ADULT CHILDREN THE OXYMORON

I have thought about the concept of adult children quite a lot. While I may say my son or my daughter we do not have a collective word for adult children in the English language. It is almost as though we  have formed a tacit agreement to ignore  the fact that our adult children are not children and do not need us in order to function successfully and independently in the world.

          Of course this delusion then allows me to behave as if I continue to be needed, necessary and responsible for my adult children's thinking and behaving. This notion when spoken aloud sounds ridiculous. However on another level parenting has grounded me and given me a reason d'etre for so long that it is hard  to impossible sometimes to separate myself from my children emotionally, physically, financially etc.