FAMILY life is a wonderful thing, especially at times when the planets align and there is total harmony.

When your children are small you cannot conceive that they will grow into independent young people and want to move on to living away from home.

When our children come to leave the family home, be it to take up a job in another town or city, for love, to travel, join the forces or to further their education, it will come as a shock with its own sense of loss to some and possibly all the family members who are left behind.

We can prepare our children for living apart from us by teaching them some fundamental life skills. Sharing a home successfully with others requires a certain etiquette. Take time when they are with you to teach them how to manage their money, cook simple meals, and adhere to a few simple rules:

- if it’s dirty, clean it

- if you spill it, wipe it up

- if it runs out, replace it

- if you break it, fix it

- if it smells, wash it.

It is so easy, as a parent, to try to do everything for your children, though by doing this we are doing them a disservice. In order for our children to become a good housemate they really do have to take responsibility for their actions and, most importantly, learn how to respect the world around them.

Don’t forget to offer oodles of support when they find any aspect of living away from home difficult. As parents our job is to give our children roots and wings.

See: www.parentandbabycoach.co.uk

NEXT WEEK: Dealing with risky behaviour