parent child friendships

[schmevil]

My parents and I are very close. We have the familial dimension, but we're also friends. We do all the parent-child stuff and all the friend stuff (minus any sex talk - because my dad is far to frank for my comfort). This seems to be increasingly common with people ~30 and younger

Comments

[alchemine]

I'm not close to either of my parents in the sense that we don't talk or see each other often (though I did see my dad a few times a month until he moved out of state two years ago), but the relationship I do have with them is definitely a friend relationship and not a parent/child one. They both kind of dropped the parent role when I was in my early teens b/c they were busy dealing with their own issues, so it would have been really weird for them to come back all parental years later.

My own daughter is 12 and we're very close, but b/c of my own experiences as a teenager, I consciously work at being her parent and not her friend. I think we'll be friends when she's a young adult for sure (and I want us to be) but for right now, she needs me to be her mom. My mother had an awful habit of oversharing and using me as a confidante, especially when her marriage to my dad was breaking up, and that's a bit of history I don't want to repeat.

[khaleesian]

Most def. I feel incredibly blessed to have parents who are not only loving, but also fun and funny people.

[deralte]

Nope. Mostly due to the fact that my mother was always confusing the roles while I grew up, thinking I could be her equal and friend when she felt like it, then be her child when she didn't. Now I just avoid her whenever possible.

My father still secretly thinks of himself as my father, which is fine since he doesn't interfere in my life with it, but we're not friends. Housemates right now, but he holds my politics against me, so a friendship is never going to happen.

[aliasjack]

Not...really? I mean, the 1000-mile distance can make keeping up with them difficult, but it's also one of the reasons we manage to get along at all when we do talk.

My relationship's a lot better with mom, as long as we don't discuss politics, but it's always awkward with my dad. I think we all kind of resent him on some level, for one reason or another.

[oddityangel]

Absolutely. Sometimes I think my parents and my sister are the only friends I can actually count on in any meaningful way.