Kids Need Tougher Love in Order to Blossom

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It still seems to be a trend that kids well into their 30s are living at home with mom and dad, and there are a lot of reasons this trend started and continues to this day. Times have changed, of course. The cost of living is higher. Many of the kids either have not yet been able to decide what they want to do or are going to college. And college is expensive. So is rent and all of the other bills that go along with living on your own. Parents, of course, want to try to give their kids a little bit of a boost or head start in life. The problem is—the boost or the head start isn't actually happening. If the kids are working, they are working menially. And on top of that, they are not taking advantage of the cost savings they are getting to live with mom and dad. They are not saving their money. In many ways, this boost or head start is actually having the opposite effect of what is intended. Why? Because there are the challenges in life which make us work harder and do more. It gives us a calling, or a reason to find success and do well. It motivates us to be stronger and more competitive. If you have bills to pay, it makes you want to work harder to get past them and earn more. By the time the kids finally do "leave the nest," they are ill-prepared to meet the challenges of real life. They don't have the great job they want. They have not taken advantage of the opportunity to set aside a starting nest egg. Moreover, they feel more slighted when they realize how hard life actually is to get ahead. And so, they become less motivated, feeling that the uphill battle is one that will forever be waged and never have an end and they go through their entire lives with financial problems as well as dealing with other issues. Many of societies woes today are, unfortunately, the direct result of letting kids have it too easy for too long, and not instilling in them the importance of hardship and learning about it. It sounds harsh to just kick the kids out and let them find their own way. At the same time, it builds better people, builds character, and offers the kids a brighter, more successful and better future. The kids who are forced to go it alone and be challenged by all the things life challenges us with are the ones who will be the most successful. The overachievers. And the next round of the nation's wealthy. All the rest will most likely be poor. And they will be the ones that even after mommy and daddy aren't taking care of them anymore—the rest of us will be called to task to support them in some form or another. Most likely through social welfare programs. We have eighteen years to raise responsible, independent adults ready to contribute to society in a productive way and carve a path of success for the generation that follows them. As good parents, we need to understand that a bird never kicked out of the nest will not fly. And the fall is what encourages the wings to spread and catch the air.