About half of parents of young adults say they rarely or never went to their own parents for advice when they were young | Pew Research Center

January 24, 2024

5. Parents’ relationship with their young adult children

About half of parents of young adults say they rarely or never went to their own parents for advice when they were young

About half of parents of young adults say they rarely or never went to their own parents for advice when they were young

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About half of parents of young adults say they rarely or never went to their own parents for advice when they were young

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5. Parents’ relationship with their young adult children
Most parents say they have an excellent or very good relationship with their young adult children
Parents’ ratings of their relationship with their adult children vary by child’s level of financial independence
Most parents say their young adult children truly know them as a person
Few parents report relying heavily on their young adult children for emotional support
Moms of daughters report the highest levels of emotional dependence
Many parents say their adult children often come to them for career advice
Parents whose youngest adult child is 18 to 24 give advice more often on a variety of topics
About half of parents of young adults say they rarely or never went to their own parents for advice when they were young
Very few parents say they often disagree with their adult children about major aspects of their lives
About 3 in 10 parents say they text their young adult child daily
Mothers are in touch with their young adult children more often than fathers are
1 in 4 parents say they track their young adult child’s location with GPS apps or software
A third of fathers say they’re less involved in their young adult child’s life than they’d like to be