FOR CAREGIVERS
Helping a young adult living away from home to manage type 1 diabetes can be a lot to handle. However, if your young adult moves back home for financial, health, or other reasons, you may find that you both really need to adjust.
Record numbers of young adults in their 20s (and even 30s) have had to move back into their parents’ homes. There’s even a term for it: “boomerang kids.” There are several reasons for this even beyond global events. High unemployment, student loan debt, and rising housing costs have made the move back home attractive, or even necessary, for many people in this age group.
What does this have to do with type 1 diabetes? Parents with children who are now “twenty-something” or “thirty-something” with type 1 diabetes know that getting them out on their own and taking care of themselves can be a challenge. But if they come back home after living on their own, it can make for a confusing time in terms of diabetes care roles and responsibilities.
If you are a parent of a boomerang kid, consider sharing these tips with them to help keep things moving forward. Encourage them to:
Remind them that as a young adult with type 1 diabetes, moving back home for a while doesn’t have to mean going backward in life. However, urge them to keep their forward momentum going. Let them return to your home as a springboard, not a crash pad. Good luck!