Is living with your parents while studying at college a smart idea?

According to the Pew Research Center, 40% of young adults live at home with their parents.

Some people might like living at home with their parents either during college or after college so they can save money. However, no one knows the truth about what is it like living at home as a young adult.

This post gives you a few pointers from my personal choice to live at home with my parents while going to college. I chose to live at home because:

• My college has no dorms
• The cost of off-campus accommodation is so high
• My college is not far from my home

Here are a few invaluable buys just for the college student sourced from Amazon.com.

Laptop Backpack with USB Charging Port

Advice for College Students

Here’s a few helpful pieces of advice to be a successful college student:

Create a schedule that includes classes, study and social activities and stick to it

• Be governed by the good values you were raised with in all that you do
• Manage your time well
• Eat superfoods to get an extra edge with your studies
• Manage stress by eating healthily and getting enough exercise and good quality sleep
• Develop healthy working habits to avoid health issues later
• Learn to meditate to hone your study skills.

• They  need to to save money
• Rent is too expensive
• They lack the essential skills to live alone like cooking, cleaning, budgeting and taxes
• They just lost their job and can’t afford the rent for their own apartment
• Worried about their parents who have health issues
• Scared to live by themselves

Now let’s need to talk about the advantages and disadvantages of living with your parents as a young adult.

The Advantages Of Living With Your Parents

There are many advantages to living at home with your parents that are often overlooked by those who are considering going to college. They are:

• Incredible on site support system
• You can focus on your studies better
• Delicious home-cooked meals
• Good, constructive  advice that can help you avoid making rash decisions
• You have more time to figure out what you want to do with your life
• Some parents may let you stay at the house rent-free so you can save money
• You worry less because you know you don’t have to pay for all the bills
• You are not in charge of dinner or managing the home
• You like their company
• Nothing beats a family dinner together
• They take care of you when you’re sick
• The have the chance to get to know them as more than just your parents

Now that we know the advantages we have to now go over the disadvantages.

The Disadvantages Of Living With Your Parents

Here’s why many college kids avoid living with their parents even though they love them:

• lack of privacy
• the social stigma attached to living with your parents
• don’t develop the skills needed to live on your own
•  become overly dependent on your parents
• hard to have friends over without encroaching on your parents’ time and privacy
• unneeded advice about everything from your taste in clothes to friends
• no space or privacy to maintain a romantic relationship
• your parents don’t treat you like a child
• they expect you to drop everything when they need you to do something
• they might expect you to follow your old curfew rule

Why Is It Bad To Live With Your Parents?

We just went over the advantages and disadvantages of living with your parents. But here’s why it’s considered bad. Living with my parents is like living in the “twilight zone.” Some days everything goes perfectly but the next nothing goes right at all.

I don’t mind helping out my parents but often when I am busy blogging or with school work they just barge right into my room. My dad doesn’t consider what I do important enough not to disturb me. Even when I was taking my online marketing course, I still couldn’t get quiet time.

Another thing I absolutely don’t like about living with my parents is chores. I offer to do the dishes but my mom tells me not to worry about it. Then a few days later she complains that no one helps her around the house.

The Problem Of Living With Your Parents As A Young Adult

I think one of the biggest problems with living with your parents as an adult is not being seen as an equal by your parents.

My dad expects me to drop everything I am doing to fix stuff with the internet or if he wants to show me something. I don’t hate helping out with the internet because it affects me as well for school work and blogging. But just email me the video or show it to me later.

The other problem that needs to be addressed is boundaries. If I’m busy with blogging or homework for school, I need time to finish what I am doing. Unless there’s an emergency please don’t interrupt me. However, if I am taking a break,  then we can have a conversation.

Some House Rules For Adults Living With Their Parents

In order for a family to live together peacefully, there should be rules in place to follow. These rules include:

• Respecting other people’s time and schedules – if your kid needs help with homework or anything else schedule a time with them and make it happen.
• If your kid offers to do chores – let them help out or tell them that you got it. But don’t say later on that no one offers to help around the house.
• Have a list of chores for everyone in the house – Obviously don’t make the list too long but have a list of practical chores that your family can help out with and make sure they are on the same page.
• Create a reward system – Maybe create a reward system where x amount of days that you finish your chores you get to choose where to go out to eat. Maybe the next movie to see.
• Make the chores fun – get a family Spotify plan or Pandora and let everyone listen to music while they work.
• Help young adults create a schedule for homework and stick to it.
• Don’t expect everything to be done in a day – we only have 24 hours in a day and not everything can be done in a day. Perhaps stick with at least 2 to 4 tasks per person in the household.

Should You Charge Your Child Rent?

I would have to say that depends. If your kid only has a part time job and he is only making ends meet, then no.

Another thing to consider if your son or daughter can’t get a job because they have different learning abilities. Then you shouldn’t charge them rent.

If your kid is like me who needs extra time for homework and is only taking one to two classes per semester so he can only focus on school, then you shouldn’t charge them rent either.

However, if your kid is just sitting at home not going to school and doesn’t have a job because he doesn’t want one, then charge them rent.

Is It Okay To Live With Your Parents Forever?

No, it’s not okay to live with your parents forever. Unless you don’t want a family of your own and to be told what to do for the rest of your life. Then it’s totally fine, but I know I wouldn’t want to do that.

Your parents also need to be free to pursue their own interests which was put on hold while you were a child and needed more supervision.

Your Turn

This quote best sums up the importance of family

Call it a clan, call it a network, call it a tribe, call it a family:
Whatever you call it, whoever you are, you need one.

Jane Howard

Living with your parents as an adult has its challenges for sure but it doesn’t make sense to move out until you can fully support yourself.

Do you live at home with your parents or do you have a young adult living with you and going to college?