No parent wants to see their child grow up and drift further and further away from them until they cut connection altogether.

Yet a 2023 study found 6% of adult children are estranged from their mothers. This figure creeps up to 26% (one in four) reporting estrangement from their fathers.

Recently, a parent asked others who’ve managed to stay close with their adult children the simple question of: “How did you get there?”

“How did you treat your children as babies and growing up? How did you maintain that closeness through the teen years and into adulthood?” they wrote on Reddit.

A couple of key themes emerged in the responses: namely the importance of letting your kids carve their own path in life, and cultivating closeness by spending time together as a family (for example, sitting around the TV or dinner table together and spending time talking).

Here’s what other parents had to say...

‘We didn’t push our expectations on our children’

“I think the number one parenting choice we made was to not push our expectations on our children. Let them find their own path and happiness. One has 2 degrees, one is in college, and two have no interest in college, but are thriving in their careers.

“Due to my childhood abandonment issues, it was important that they always feel/felt safe, cared for, and wanted. Children and teenagers make mistakes. It’s never the end of the world. Our job was to guide them through those times. We are still here for them in their adulthood... It’s just a lot less work now.”

– NiseWenn

‘I admitted........

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