invest in your adult childs relationships
Parenting

How to Invest in Your Adult Child’s Friendships

It’s easy to invest in our relationships with our children when they’re young. They rely on us for everything! In a way, I miss that season of life. I’m proud of my kids as they grow into incredible, responsible adults, but investing in my relationship with them as they get older has become more complicated. It’s not as simple or accessible anymore. SO I’m having to figure out what it means to parent an adult child.

Mark and I have realized something unique about this phase of life: our children, as they leave home to pursue their dreams, find themselves very wrapped up in the world of friends. Especially during college, friends are extremely important. As parents, if we want to be close to our kids, we must learn to strategically invest in their friends, as well.

In this podcast, Mark and I discuss why and how you should invest in your older children by investing in their friendships.

Here are 3 great ways to invest in your child’s friends:

  1. Be available
  2. Be open to what they want to do
  3. Let go of control

A friend had a great idea for investing in her oldest son and his friends when he moved a couple of hours away for college. During midterms and finals, she would drive a home-cooked meal up to him and his classmates. By the time he graduated, it had become a tradition and had affected hundreds of students. It was her way of being available to meet the needs of her son and his friends when they were feeling especially stressed (and hungry!), and it made a huge impact.

Listen to the full podcast here for more explanation and examples to help you through this unique phase of life.

How do you invest in your older kid’s friends? If you have any ideas that have worked for you, share them in the comments below!

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