Resources Advise How to Handle Children with “Failure to Launch” Syndrome
With prices high and the job market challenging, it’s common for young adults - especially recent college graduates - to live at home longer than they once did.
Some may be looking for a job, while others might have one that doesn’t pay enough to enable them to live on their own yet. But some adult children live at home for a longer period without going to school, working, or looking for work.
The Child Mind Institute has released a set of resources for caregivers with highly-dependent adult children - known as “failure to launch syndrome” - that describes what can be done for children who are not moving forward.
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The series includes an article on what constitutes highly-dependent adult children as well as the difference between supporting children facing mental health challenges and enabling their dependence.
Another piece examines research that has found that carefully pulling back on accommodations, using principles from a treatment that has been effective in children with anxiety or OCD, can encourage highly-dependent adult children to take steps forward.
Mental health struggles can be a contributing factor to these scenarios, so the Child Mind Institute has included an article on signs that adolescents have anxiety or depression. There is also advice on how to help children develop the confidence they need to do hard things, which is an essential part of the growth process.
Below are the Child Mind Institute’s resources: