Your New Life with Adult Children: A Practical Guide to What Helps, What Hurts, and What Heals

by Gary Chapman, Ross Campbell

Loving Your Adult Children Without Losing Your Mind (Or Your Heart, Or All Your Money, Or Your Soul)

Your kids will always be your kids. The trick is figuring out how to adapt to the new phases in that parent-child relationship. No question, it can be tricky. And if you fail to navigate that transition well, the result will be stress, alienation, and maybe a broken relationship.

But it doesn’t have to be that way. In Your New Life with Adult Children, Dr. Gary Chapman—author of the worldwide bestseller The 5 Love Languages®—teams up with clinical psychiatrist Dr. Ross Campbell to provide the insights you need when your child moves into adulthood. You’ll find help for those moments

Your adult child isn’t succeedingYour nest isn’t emptyingYour child moves back homeYou have conflict over lifestyle issuesYou become an in-law or grandparentAnd much more . . .
The book includes brief sidebars from parents of adult children, as well as stories from adult children who relate what works best for them. An online study guide is also available.

Stop wondering how to connect with your adult child. Instead, learn to love them in the ways they so desperately want.

Genres: Parenting, Christian, Unfinished, Nonfiction

241 pages, Kindle Edition

Published October 1, 2024

About the author

Gary Demonte Chapman is an American author and radio talk show host. Chapman is most noted for his The Five Love Languages series regarding human relationships.

Reviews

[John Emrich · Rating 5 out of 5]

My wife and I have raised 3 kids who are adults with families of their own. We did some things right, and some things not right. I recommend this book to anyone with adult kids. It addresses some really tough cases. It is worthwhile just for the tough cases. Having a real family helps the tough cases.

[Cindy Davis- Cindy's Book Corner · Rating 4 out of 5]

Navigating the new season of raising adult children is hard. So, when I saw Your New Life with Adult Children by Gary Chapman, I knew I had to read it. I will take all the help that I can get.

Your attitude, words, and behavior do influence your child every time you are together.

This small book packs a lot of valuable information. Chapman starts by discussing different parenting styles (like overprotection), citing real-life stories and giving advice on how to change what might need to be changed.

It's crucial we show self-control in our relationships with our adult children.

Chapman discusses obstacles that an adult child might face on their way to being independent, such as being stuck, not wanting to leave the nest, and more. In each chapter, he expounds further on side issues like depression and anxiety. The last half of the book tackles adapting to your changing role, like caring for yourself, and becoming a grandparent. Just like the first section, this section dives deeper, addressing issues of cohabitation, gender issues, homosexuality, and more.

This is a handy book to have if you are raising adult children and are stumped on how to handle a certain situation. Not everything applies to me at this time, and hopefully, some of it won't ever. However, I don't think you can have adult children without having to navigate some of the issues discussed in this book.

Thank you to Moody Publishers for the opportunity to read this book. I was not required to provide a positive review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

[Melissa Oliver · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am so grateful that I discovered this book. I have always liked Gary Chapman (5 Love Languages), and I was excited to find that he had written a book on navigating parenthood with adult children. This is an entire new realm of parenting for me. I realize my girls are coming into adulthood in a completely different world and way in which I did. Having resources like this book makes that a little less scary, and helps me to be more equipped to know how to support and love them well. I believe the advice given in this book is solid and wise. I’m sure I’ll be reading it again as there are so many stages and seasons in parenting.

[Susan · Rating 1 out of 5]

The first few chapters were okay. I picked it up looking for helpful advice about living with adult offspring, which it seemed to offer, interspersed with lots of praying and religious comments. Then, the author starts offering advice on your unmarried children dating and living together and being gay and I stopped caring what he said.

[Sabrina · Rating 2 out of 5]

I appreciated that this wasn't preachy because many Christian books can be. However, it also wasn't what I needed. This is more of a basic foundation to scenarios with your adult children. Most that I have already figured out but new information was not there. It was nice to have a few things that I naturally did be confirmed.

This is a great beginner help.

[Alice · Rating 5 out of 5]

Definitely recommend!

I thought this was an excellent resource for those of us with Adult children.
Chapman and Campbell give us a good overview of potential issues that anyone could face with honest and practical advice!

[Ace P. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Its not a one size fits all book, there are various scenarios of all shapes and challenges. Anyone who’s a parent should at minimum read this book for possible guidance or insight into your own Adult Child/Children’s relationship.

[Nick Salenga · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great book that provides insights you need when your child moves into adulthood.

[Jennifer · Rating 2 out of 5]

2-3

[Jon Major · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a great book to help deal with all situations with adult children. It’s a resource I will go back to when helping others deal with this. Highly recommend

[Tanya · Rating 2 out of 5]

There are much better and more practical books on this topic.

[Dawn McWilly · Rating 5 out of 5]

Recommend to anyone with children, especially adult children. I wish I had read this 5 years ago. Please read this book!