My wife told the kids they were welcome to move back in after college if they needed to. I told our kids the same thing, but handed each of them a McDonald's application and said that could help them to pay their rent if they needed to move in. There is nothing like clear expectations for improving motivation.
Yep, expectations are important, I agree. There were expectations that we would become adults and take charge of our lives.
I too was welcome to live at home but had to pay rent as I was working.
A friend of mine had tough parents. At first he was unemployed. But his parents told him he had to be out of the house Monday through Friday looking for work. So his “job” for a period of time, was spending weekdays going to employment agencies, going places to fill out job applications, and going on job interviews.
And that’s what he did till he found a job.
Parents such as those are doing their adult children a favor in the long run. Now those were clear expectations.