Many young adults living at home are not given the space to learn important life lessons, according to Ciara Kelly.

Some 28% of Irish adults aged between 25 and 34 still live with their parents, according to a 2023 report by Eurofound.

On Newstalk Breakfast, Shane Coleman said he feels his children do not have the same level of freedom he did at their age.

Shane Coleman. Image: Newstalk.

“I left home to go to college when I was 17,” he said.

“I'd never tell this to my kids – and hopefully they're not listening – but I didn't make it to half my lectures.

“My two lads who are going to college, they're obviously living at home.

“If they're not up for the lecture, we're kind of knocking on their door saying, 'you've got a lecture this morning at nine o'clock, you need to get up now’.

“I don't think that's good for them, and I'm not sure it's good for us.”

Responsibility

Fellow presenter Ciara Kelly agreed, and said parents often find themselves taking on stress for their adult children.

“We're taking on too much responsibility for them when they should be taking on responsibility for themselves,” she said. “But I also think they're probably not as free to mess up – and messing up is important.

“We have to mess up to learn our boundaries and our own limits and all that stuff.”

Ciara said she had never learned her children’s college timetables, but that she worried about their cooking skills.