Candy: “It is your job to prepare your children to take care of themselves, not just to throw them out if you haven’t.”
Lonnie Bradley: “I moved out shortly after turning 18. Prior to that, I was handed the water bill and my portion of the car insurance bill to pay every month.”
Anam T Stories: “I don’t understand this western culture…why kick a child out when they are 18. Really…how about you keep them with you and teach them the value of family, financial, and household responsibilities from the beginning and not kick them out like a door knob. Western countries that are actually from classic culture (not barbarism) keep their kids with them until kids would voluntarily leave. Look at Italians, Spanish and Greek leaving parents around 30 years of age.”
Chris Jones: “As long as he is in school or working towards what he wants, he can be here as long as he wants.”
Sam: “I hate this. How can parents do this? If they really want to kick the kid out at 18, they should prepare the kid for it a couple of years in advance. Make sure the kid is earning enough to survive on their own before they kick them out. Every time my husband says that to my kid, that he will kick her out at 18, I tell him and her that she won’t be going alone. I will go with her. I know he doesn’t mean it but I hate anyone saying that to a kid.”
Norma Sanchez Martinez: “I have 6 children and as soon as the 3 oldest turned 18 they moved out and lived on their own. My husband and I prepared them for this as soon as they hit their teens. We wanted them to be ready to become adults and they are now 28, 21, and 18 and all have their own places and full time jobs. My 17 year old graduates in June and is preparing for her move as an adult. We tell them, as parents, we will not always be here forever, and we would love to see that they are able to do it on their own and they have. I was not prepared for adulthood when I was 21. When my grandmother passed, I was alone and a single parent of my oldest and had nowhere to go. I struggled, luckily my cousin Yvette Tello helped me. She taught me to be strong and get on my feet. For this reason I think having them move at 18 is a great idea.”
Sticks Gaitan: “You never want them to leave. When you’re old and gray you wish they would come around.”
Stacie Jo Reyes: “I stayed at home until I got through with college/married. My oldest is doing the same.”
Tracy Trevino: “Never was I forced to leave. I did leave when I got married at 21. Nowadays the kids can’t afford their own homes so they stay until they are ready … .30-40-50???”
Monica Martinez: “Moved to Houston at 17, no regrets!”
Lauren Browning: “I got a one way bus ticket to ‘wherever I want to go’ just after my seventeenth birthday. This old white lady had a tough childhood all around. I was not prepared to go on my own at all, but some other 18 year olds are. I guess it depends on the maturity of the 18 year old and how much, if any, continued guidance they get after leaving.”
Chris Castillo: “I, myself, moved out when I was 19. Our 19 y/o son is off to college and still comes home during breaks. I think boys are different and prefer to stay home as long as they can.. lol. But, I don’t think he’s ready for the real world. Now if he wasn’t in college, then he’d have a job and be out.. lol. Thank God he is in college and plans to join the Airforce.”
Gail McFarland: “My mother did this to my younger brother, as he was graduating high school. She was moving 300 miles away with her new boyfriend since her divorce from my dad was final that month. She also informed my sister and I, who were both graduating from college that she was done with us as well. Just because they can do this doesn’t make it right for everyone. Parents who do stuff like this jeopardize their relationships with their young adult children.”
Willie Williams: “I left for college in Oklahoma, but living in the dorm room and doing things for myself seemed strange without my mom being around.”
George Patterson: “My wife was adopted and at 18 was kicked out of the house. She has been shunning their approaches ever since.”
Ruslan Shlemov: “Yeah, I got kicked out at 19 and now they wonder why I don’t call as often as I should….”
Jennifer Jansen: “My parents divorced when my brother was 16. While growing up, we’d been told we’d always have a home with them, but step-mom had a different opinion. At her insistence, my step-brother (her son) was literally put out because she was tired of police visits. A short time later, my brother was told that my father would ‘help him find an apartment’, i.e. ‘be kicked out’ because if her son couldn’t live there, neither could he. 30 years later, we still haven’t really forgiven him and we have an enormously strained relationship, with step-mom doing all she can to put more obstacles in our relationships. As a parent, your first obligation is to your minor children, period. If your fiance is selfish with no concept of love or commitment and what it means to be a parent, dump him or her and run.”
My wife and I raised two wonderful daughters and we never wished for them to leave home until they were ready. Our eldest left home at age 25 when she got married, our youngest graduated high school, left for college, graduated and relocated to New Mexico. She married her college sweetheart and remained in New Mexico. To us everything was perfect. Some years later my youngest and her family moved back to San Antonio and we were all together again.
Four years ago our oldest daughter got sick and passed away at age 57. How we wish she was here with us. So do not assume that your children will outlive you. Teach them to be self-reliant but give them the choice of leaving when they are ready.