Mom Asks 31-Year-Old Son To Move Back In With Her Rent-Free Just Because She Misses Him So Much
He pointed out that it would be an incredibly smart decision, financially, if he moved back in with his mom.
fizkes | Shutterstock There's an expectation that adult children move out of their parent's house once they reach a certain age and a stigma that if adults move back in with their parents, they're seen as some kind of failure.
However, a 31-year-old fitness influencer named Andrew is challenging that idea after sharing that his mother brought up the idea of him moving back in with her.
His mom asked him to move back in with her rent-free because she misses him.
In Andrew's video, he explained that his mom recently asked him if he would consider moving back in with her without having to pay any rent because she missed his company and having him around.
He insisted that he wasn't going to, but the thought of not having to pay rent would be a very good financial decision due to the cost of living.
In a subsequent video, one of Andrew's followers commented that if he moved back home, the meals he'd most likely have from his mother would be enough to sustain him, and he wholeheartedly agreed. "My mom was raised in the South. My grandmother owned a restaurant. My mom and grandmother were cooking every meal for her five brothers," he explained.
"My mom could write five cookbooks, and I still don't even think it would scratch the surface," he remarked.
Honestly, Andrew's mom's offer is extremely tempting, especially when taking into account the amount of Gen Zers and millennials who are struggling to keep themselves afloat and be financially independent.
Intuit Credit Karma polled 1,249 people aged 18 and older; nearly one-third, or 31%, of Generation Z adults, live at home with their parents because they can’t afford to buy or rent their own space. Similarly, according to a Pew Research Center report, the number of households with two or more adult generations has been on the rise for years, Now, 25% of young adults live in a multigenerational household, up from just 9% five decades ago.
There's an expectation that once people turn 18, graduate college, or score their first adult job, they need to move out and live independent successful lives.
However, no one seems to take into account that rent prices have skyrocketed over the last few years. It's almost impossible for people in younger generations to buy a home, and even buying groceries requires budgeting. If your parents are offering you a place in their home without having to pay rent, then that's something anyone should jump on.
It's only this Westernized idea that adult children need to financially separate themselves from their parents just to be seen as a "successful adult" without taking into account that just because you become an adult doesn't mean you suddenly do not need your parents anymore or their support.
He was accused of having an inappropriate relationship with his mother.
Following Andrew's initial video of his mom's offer, some comments accused her of being a typical "boy mom" who couldn't let her son live an independent life. In response, Andrew pointed out that there's nothing inappropriate about the relationship he has with his mother just because she asked him to move back in with her.
One commenter brought up the term "enmeshment," and to that, Andrew explained that his mom has been in a happy and successful marriage for the last 10 years while also making time to check in on Andrew's life. It's a normal mother-son relationship, and for some reason, people can't fathom that sometimes, no matter how old a child becomes, a mom will still want to spend time with them and be around them.
Responding to another hate comment with someone again accusing him and his mom of having a "disturbing" and "sickening" relationship, Andrew pointed out that just because one person might have had "abusive" or "narcissistic" parents doesn't mean that's the case for every single person who gets online and talks about their family.
"This is like growing up in a home with empty cupboards and then hating people who are able to eat," he said, speaking directly to the person who left the criticizing comment. "You are a child of a seemingly [bad] upbringing, but you still have an opportunity to be a positive person, yet you instead choose to be negative."
Just because one person has experienced trauma doesn't suddenly give them the right to say hurtful and demeaning things to others while they're trying to work through their own issues.
Everyone has experienced different upbringings, and there's something incredibly positive about being able to still have a healthy and loving relationship with your parents as an adult.
Nia Tipton is a Chicago-based entertainment, news, and lifestyle writer whose work delves into modern-day issues and experiences.