Doing Life with Your Adult Children audiobook cover - Keep Your Mouth Shut and the Welcome Mat Out

Doing Life with Your Adult Children

Keep Your Mouth Shut and the Welcome Mat Out

Jim Burns

★ 4.0 / 5(3 ratings)
Start ListeningDownloadQR code that opens AudiobookHub on the App StoreTry free on iPhoneScan to start in 5 seconds
Categories:
ParentingCommunication SkillsPersonal Development

If You're Curious About These Questions...

You should listen to this audiobook

Listen to Doing Life with Your Adult Children — Free Audiobook

Loading player...

Key Takeaways from Doing Life with Your Adult Children

Learning Tools

Reinforce what you learned from Doing Life with Your Adult Children

Mind Map

Doing Life with Your Adult Children
Redefining the Parenting Role+
Navigating Advice and Communication+
Helping vs. Enabling+
Living with Boomerang Kids+
Handling Poor Choices+
Financial Independence+

Quiz — Test Your Understanding

Question 1 of 7
How does the author suggest parents view their new role when their children reach adulthood?
  • A. As a manager who provides strict rules for their new independent life.
  • B. As a consultant who steps in to fix their major life problems.
  • C. As an intermittent, encouraging presence who embraces 'serious fun' together.
  • D. As a detached observer who completely severs ties to foster independence.
Question 2 of 7
According to the book, how is unsolicited advice usually received by adult children?
  • A. As a welcome sign of parental care.
  • B. As criticism.
  • C. As a helpful mentoring tool.
  • D. As a command they must follow.
Question 3 of 7
What is the primary difference between helping and enabling an adult child?
  • A. Enabling involves giving emotional support, while helping is strictly financial.
  • B. Helping requires setting a curfew, while enabling gives them total freedom.
  • C. Helping shields them from pain, while enabling forces them to face reality.
  • D. Enabling shields them from the consequences of their choices, while helping allows natural consequences to unfold.
Question 4 of 7
Why do many parents revert to 'helicopter parenting' when their adult children move back home?
  • A. Because adult children legally require more supervision when living at home.
  • B. Because the parents have an underlying psychological need to be needed.
  • C. Because boomerang kids usually ask their parents to take control of their lives.
  • D. Because financial institutions require parents to manage their adult children's debts.
Question 5 of 7
What does it mean to fall into the 'one-topic parent' trap?
  • A. Only discussing your adult child's poor choices and reducing your relationship to their biggest problem.
  • B. Focusing exclusively on your child's career success while ignoring their personal life.
  • C. Refusing to talk about anything other than when they plan to move out of the house.
  • D. Only communicating with your adult child through text messages about financial support.
Question 6 of 7
How does the author suggest a parent handle an adult child's wedding if the parent believes the partner is the wrong choice?
  • A. Boycott the wedding to establish a firm boundary against poor decision-making.
  • B. Attend the wedding to show unconditional love, demonstrating that love does not equal approval.
  • C. Attend the wedding but publicly voice concerns during the ceremony to ensure honesty.
  • D. Pay for the entire wedding to maintain control over the event's outcome.
Question 7 of 7
What is one of the key strategies recommended for parents who want to stop financially enabling their adult children?
  • A. Secretly close their bank accounts to force immediate independence.
  • B. Continue paying their bills but charge them a high interest rate.
  • C. Develop a transparent timeline and exit plan for ending financial support.
  • D. Hand over all retirement savings so the child can learn to invest.

Doing Life with Your Adult Children — Full Chapter Overview

Doing Life with Your Adult Children Summary & Overview

Doing Life with Your Adult Children (2019) addresses the complex transition parents face when their children become adults, offering practical guidance for navigating altered relationship dynamics while maintaining connection. It provides strategies for common challenges like setting boundaries, distinguishing between helping and enabling, handling value conflicts, and supporting adult children's independence while preserving the parent-child bond.

Who Should Listen to Doing Life with Your Adult Children?

  • Parents of college-age kids managing the transition from hands-on to remote parent
  • Empty nesters redefining  their relationship with their adult kids
  • Mums and dads who love their kids but can’t support all their choices

About the Author: Jim Burns

Jim Burns is a bestselling author and leading parenting expert who has dedicated his career to helping families navigate the challenges of raising children and maintaining strong relationships. He draws from both his professional expertise and personal experience as a parent to provide practical, hope-filled guidance for parents transitioning through different stages of their children's lives.

🎧
Listen in the AppOffline playback & background play
Get App