Legally, I suppose there's truth to that statement. For example, we have two sons. One is 18 and the other is 19. I consider them "adults." One is a sophomore at a university, and the other one is a high school senior. They get their own mail, and their social-security checks are sent to them by the government. They both have their own bank accounts and can do whatever they want to do, legally.

Maybe because my parents were so restrictive, I lean the other way, probably too much. If they were to move back into my house, then I think I would expect them to help out and to pay some on the room and board, but I don't think I should boss them around otherwise. However, I would tell them I wouldn't feel comfortable if they had someone sleeping with them in their room (sexual relationship.) That's my values, and they have those ones, too, as far as I know. Frankly, they do know that I expect them to not have to move back in.......(But we never know with the economy being the way it it.) But I do allow them to come and go pretty much as they please. I only ask that they keep in touch with us.

I was laughing the other day about something I saw about people getting old and going into their "second childhood." It said "the bad thing about getting into your second childhood is you can't blame your parents for how you are!" And people can get so demented in their old age that they can no longer be responsible, so their children might get a power-of-attorney and control all aspects of their parents' lives, even though their parents are officially adults.