For many years a parent decides, protects and organises. When a child becomes an adult, that role needs to change, but the emotional transition is not automatic.

It can be difficult to watch your child make choices you would not make yourself. Love, however, does not always need to take the form of advice.

Sometimes the more mature form of presence is asking: “do you want my thoughts, or do you want me to listen?” That question moves the relationship from control towards respect.

Parent counselling can support these transitions even when the child is already an adult.