Society is moving away from traditional family structures whereby many young adults are choosing to break ties with their parents. In fact, a recent survey shows that over 25% of young people now have no relationship with either one or both of their parents.
The research conducted on adult children found that 26% of the participants did not stay in touch with their fathers, while 6% did not stay in touch with their mothers. This is often call parental estrangement.
Rin Reczek, a lead researcher and sociology professor at Ohio State University, notes, “This trend appears linked to a growing emphasis on fostering healthy relationships. Cultural shifts may now allow individuals to make personal choices about their family, which can sometimes mean excluding those who raised them.
Reczek note that roughly 25% of Americans will cut ties with a parent during their young adult years. While many of these relationships eventually mend, maintaining no contact with parents is more challenging today compare to the pre-Internet era.
The act of blocking phone numbers, e-mails and social media accounts has become common among the young adults of today. Some may also choose to return gifts without even unwrapping them. However, this unexpected disconnection leaves the parents wondering what went wrong.
Kids are usually more incline to start undisturbed situations than the fathers and mothers. To elderly parents, their grown children often seem to exaggerate past events, turning minor issues into significant cases of emotional abuse and stress.
Joshua Coleman, author of “Rules of Estrangement,” explains that many Baby Boomers and Generation X parents often express disbelief when it comes to changing family dynamics. He says, “I often hear parents from the Baby Boomer generation and Generation X say that even if their own parents were abusive they would never cut them off. They now cut them off for reasons that are hard to understand.”
From an adult child’s viewpoint, their parents might struggle to understand what constitutes a healthy relationship in adulthood.
Uncontrolled rage and disappointment can strain relationships significantly. As a result, adult children might face the tough choice of whether to cut ties with their parents or family.
Experts say estrangement between parents and children is rising, changing traditional views of the American family.
Baby boomers, the parents of Millennials, raised a generation often characterized by detachment, lack of engagement, and occasional neglect.
As a consequence, Baby Boomer parents became increasingly engage in their children’s lives, often to the extent of overstepping boundaries.
When millennial children distance themselves from their parents, experts often interpret this as a desire for boundaries. For young adults, this estrangement provides an opportunity to establish personal space and independence.
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