Do you live across the continent from your grown kids, but see them more frequently than a woman you know whose children live blocks away? Does your sister get emotional support from her daughter, while your son wouldn’t even know you died as long as someone kept texting him from your phone? Was the last trip you took with your son when he was 15, or do you vacation with your son and daughter-in-law at least once a year?
Our relationships with our adult kids can range from joyful and easy to heartbreaking and downright complicated, or somewhere inbetween. We’ve met parents we always thought were perfect who are now rebuffed by their grown children, and parents who constantly criticized their kids when they were little, but are now welcomed with open arms by their adult kids.
Interestingly, 56 percent of you admitted that you’re closer with one (or more) of your children than with the others; 44 percent have sons and daughters who don’t worry about your health and well being, but 78 percent of you have offspring who confide in you.
Are you perfectly content with your relationship with your grown kids, or do you yearn to change it? Take a look at how 164 members of the FabOverFifty community interact with their children and see how you fit in.