POV: Your child is a umvc3 "authority figure"
I’m 60, and my son is 33. He still lives in my house, sleeping in the same room he grew up in and using the same closet I built for him when he was ten. He eats the food I prepare for him every day. He doesn’t work, doesn’t study, and doesn’t look for anything. He wakes up late, turns on the television or computer, and that’s how his day passes. If I don’t serve him breakfast, he skips it. If I don’t wash his clothes, he leaves them piled on a chair until he has nothing clean left to wear.
But it wasn’t always this obvious. It started years ago, little by little, and I allowed it all to happen.
When he was a child, I didn’t let him do anything on his own. I tied his shoes until he was twelve because he said it took too long. I did his homework for him “so he wouldn’t get stressed.” If there was a problem with a teacher at school, I went to speak on his behalf. If he argued with a friend, I stepped in. I always told myself, “He’ll have time to suffer when he’s an adult.” I never let him experience discomfort.