65 People Shared The Things That Surprised Them The Most After Their Kids Moved Out

"When they move out, they also take a step towards adulthood, which means our relationship also changes for the better. We can take a step away from "parent-child"-relationship to "two people who love and respect each other" and we can talk about many issues much more as equals now. They have their own, thoughtful opinions on many topics, an I love having these discussions because more often than not they'll surprise me with a different perspective, and make me re-think my own opinions."

"As the one who moved out: how pets can take to the change of household members. My parents have a cat, Riley, who was with them the time I was living with them (note: This was my second time living at home, bad times in my life) - he always had a connection with me, and would enjoy curling up next to me and purring for me, plus, I am the only one he allows to carry him baby style, and after I moved out, he spent several days wandering around the house, as if he was trying to find where I had disappeared to. And the first time I visited after that, he meowed at me a lot, like he was shouting at me for leaving. Even now, when I visit, he'll cuddle up to me the moment I am sat down."

mel_cache said:
"How much my food bill went down. Also the quiet."

RayNooze replied:
"And electricity. And heating. And water. And how little you move your car anymore."

"Use less toilet paper as a household."

"Discovered my wife's multiple affairs."

"Answering for my parents: that it wasn't their kids who kept making the house messy and hoarding."

dc1732 said:
"That he never called his mother for 3 weeks. She was crushed. She loves her babies even at age 22. We still have 3 at home thank goodness."

FattyTheNunchuck replied:
"I was the same way for a long, long time. I grew up with strict parents. Religious, politically conservative, all that. My folks were strict enough, that when I was in college and over the age of 18, they would still interfere and make decisions for me. When I finally got out on my own, I stopped telling them about a lot of my life. I started doing a lot of things that I had always wanted to do. And I also found that I didn't need or want to talk with them that often, because they were my primary social group even up to my early 20s. Last year, I made the decision to start calling my mom once a week. Before that, even though I didn't talk to her frequently, I made sure to tell her I loved her before I hung up. This year I am calling my mom twice a week. Our relationship has gotten a lot better, and I kind of wish I had started doing this 10 years ago."

"How much room I had in that house."

"The difference between peaceful quiet and sad, lonely quiet."

"Last kid moves out, divorced a year later."

"How similar it feels to starting your life over after a breakup or graduating from college. And then the immense sadness you feel when they ask to move back in because the $150K liberal arts degree you bought them won’t let them actually make a living."

"I never realized how much my parents relied on my rent. Every month I have to come up with a different excuse so they'll still take it."

"On the flip side; my mum told me the first night I moved out, she found my dad sitting downstairs reading my favorite childhood book to himself. I hilariously refused to let anyone read me that book. That was mine and dad's book up until I was about 6 (then I just read by myself). After all the emotional/verbal abuse he dealt throughout my life I was surprised he cared enough to miss me..."

"How much better the house smelled."

"It's an instant pay rise. God knows I love them, but even when they have been working and contributing to the household, me and my wife have still fronted most of the bills and purchases. Going from providing for a family of five to just me and the wife... let's just say we eat better cuts of meat and our savings accounts have never been healthier."

"Mom here. I was worried that I would be sad and heartbroken. I found out that was not the case. I was excited to see where her path took her. It's amazing to see her making her own world and dreams come true. I now have more money, so I travel a lot more."

"My best friend found half of their dishes hidden in their son's closet. They were dirty and disgusting. They knew dishes were going missing and had asked him dozens of times if he had them but he always denied it. He wasn't mean or rotten just lazy and goofy."

"That they each came back at least once, usually for just a few months, to save some money. It's expensive out there."

"Just the feeling of no longer having to be quite so responsible for someone else."

"How much harder it is to raise grandkids. We just weren't expecting that one."