If the emerging adult in your life gets upset every time you set a boundary, I want you to hear this clearly:

Their reaction does not automatically mean your boundary is wrong.

It simply means they don’t like it.

And those are two very different things.

Where Parents Get Pulled Off Course

This ...

Someone needs to hear this, so I’m going to say it clearly:

You cannot expect your kids to respect you if you haven’t shown them respect.

That can be hard to hear because many parents I talk to feel deeply disrespected by their emerging adult.

They’re being talked back to, ignored, dismissed, and...

Parents say this to me all the time:

“My emerging adult just has no motivation.”

And almost immediately, the self-blame follows.

• Did I not model hard work?
• Did I not teach responsibility?
• Did I miss something along the way?

Let me say this clearly.

This is not about your parenting.

The R...

If your emerging adult hears criticism every time you try to talk to them, even when you’re being thoughtful, careful, and supportive, we need to talk about what’s really happening.

Because you’re not crazy.

You are choosing your words carefully, you are trying to show up in a supportive way, and ...

Parents often say to me, “My 20-something just doesn’t respect me anymore.”

And the first thing I tell them is this: respect is not something you can lecture your way into.

You don’t fix a respect problem with a speech. You fix it with behavior.

That may not be the answer parents want to hear, bu...

I was talking with a mom recently who shared a moment that many parents can probably relate to.

She asked her 24-year-old son, who lives at home, to take the garbage cans out for the next morning’s pickup.

It was a simple request. Something she had asked him to do many times before.

He immediatel...