I tend to lean more to Honeybuns way of thinking
Of my 3 offspring only youngest at 20 is still at home, my daughter is married with children, son #2 lives with his dad but would live with us if we had a room for him
Youngest is honest that he wants independence and I respect that but life today is totally different to when we were younger, I had a mortgage at 19 , and due to relationship breakdowns, am struggling to get one now with ridiculous deposits required
I think within a year youngest will be gone, and by then middle one will be earning enough to move out. try to remember this phase will very soon be a memory.
We treat youngest as a flat mate and step in as parents when he needs guidance, I want to wave him off with good memories, as I did the first 2, not move out because he couldn't stand living with us
We do have rules, and the main one is he's not allowed to have girls overnight! My kids dad lets them do literally what they want but they come to me for advice. In my experience giving my kids boundaries gave them security and they know where they're at with me, I still remain very close with all 3 of them and I'm proud of that
But I am going to embrace the time when it's just me and OH and the fur babies !
Annie xx