Have We Lost the ADULT in ADULThood?

The Dr. Phil Podcast

Dr. Phil McGraw

Mental Health, Self-improvement, Society & Culture, Education, Health & Fitness

4.4 • 13.2K Ratings

🗓️ 24 June 2025

⏱️ 44 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Dr. Phil explores the growing trend of young adults choosing to live with their parents—and the social consequences that come with it. He talks with a 24-year-old woman who defends living rent-free with her mother and a mother who believes sharing her home with her adult daughter sets her up for future success. The debate escalates when Dr. Phil brings in renowned podcaster Jennifer Cohen, who argues that parents who house their grown children may be holding them back from becoming capable, resilient adults. Later, a 27-year-old woman opens up about never having left home and reveals how the idea of venturing out alone triggers crippling anxiety.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	When it comes to a generation of coddled young adults, parents are often the biggest culprits.
0:06.6	But now it's been reported that parents are helping their grown children completely avoid independence and self-sufficiency altogether.
0:16.3	Welcome back to the Dr. Phil podcast.
0:19.5	You can click the follow and subscribe to get this daily on all podcast players and YouTube.
0:26.1	So what do I mean?
0:28.2	Well, in record numbers, adult children are now foregoing living on their own to instead go live with their mom and dad.
0:37.4	And it's not just a couple of adult children here and there.
0:42.0	I'm talking about nearly 50% of all 18 to 29-year-olds, the highest levels of failure to launch
0:50.9	in 80 years.
0:53.3	But these young adults claim they have no choice but to free-loaded
0:57.0	home rent-free. Why? Because they insist they can't afford to survive on their own in today's
1:04.0	economy. But not everyone is on board with the new boomerang trend. Because the naysayers claim this is just another way
1:12.6	for parents to help weaken and misguided generation of young adults even further.
1:19.6	Adult children foregoing their independence to go live with mommy and daddy.
1:25.6	Young people today are struggling with resilience
1:29.5	and coping skills because there's zero discomfort,
1:33.1	there's zero challenge.
1:34.2	So you've never been self-sufficient at all?
1:37.0	No. If that works for us,
1:38.6	I don't see why there's a problem with that.
1:40.5	You're 24, 25 years old, and you're living at home.
1:44.0	I'm telling you, you don't know what you're missing.
	...

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