Do you feel like all tough conversations with your young adult end in yelling and frustration? If so, you are certainly not alone. While resistance is biologically inevitable to some degree, the way that we initiate and engage in conversations with young adults can strongly affect your sanity today and the long-term the outcome of your relationship. Here are some tips to making your next discussion a little more constructive and little less of an argument.

The nest – it’s such a vivid metaphor that comes into play during transitional times in our lives. Pushing babies out of the nest – “empty nesting” parents – adult children “nesting” with potential life partners. But let's not forget, we’re humans with a wide range of human emotion. Along with the complexity of the human experience, a bit more comes into play when it's time for adult children to spread their wings and fly.

As the Covid-19 pandemic continues, parents are experiencing an extreme collision of roles, responsibilities, and expectations: parent, employee, partner, employer, friend, child, sibling, teacher, the list goes on. Here are some helpful strategies for parents navigating these uncertain times with their young adult children.