How to stop worrying about your adult child's lifestyle choices
Parents find it hard to watch their adult children make lifestyle and style choices that look like self-sabotage without stepping in to intervene. This constant anxiety makes it difficult to step back and let them learn from their own experiences.
What people tried
Every workaround mentioned in the threads below. We haven’t tested any of them — and nobody here is claiming they worked.
- 1Waiting until the child reaches the point of interviewing for jobs or internships before offering fashion advice
- 2Allowing the child to explore the world and make their own choices without intervening
- 3Offering advice as a parent only up to the point where the child understands the guidance without forcing a debate
In their words
Unedited, most upvoted first, each linked to the thread it came from.
“Am I wrong to want my son to be successful or how I perceive as setting yourself up for success?”source ↗
Phil48784 · Parenting Stack Exchange · 3 upvotes
Where this came up
People with this problem also raised
- 13Why does watching kids grow up make you feel so sad?
- 2Partner won't agree on giving our child independence
- 3Should I tell other parents if their kids broke rules at our house?
- 3How to stop being too overbearing in my child's relationships
- 5How to handle a child hanging out with bad influence friends
- 3Why does my toddler only want me when I'm around?