Adult Children Move Out: Family Meals and Reflections on Parental Self-sacrifice at the Moment of Transition

Abstract

This article examines the differentiation and change in the shared eating practices of parents and their adult children, linking theories of sacrifice with empirical research. Drawing on 26 qualitative, in-depth dyadic interviews, the authors analyse the transformation of expectations sensed by the parents before and after their adult children leave home. While the article confirms the significance of meals for family relationships, it further develops the findings in transition to the empty nest phase of family life. First, it examines the understanding of different aspects and distribution of everyday sacrificing in an intergenerational family, as well as the dynamics introduced by the life course transition connected with adult children moving out. Second, it analyses how this transition carries in consequence a transformation in the food-related practices of the parents of adult children, who tend to pay less attention to the quality, variety, and regularity of their dinners once their children have moved out. Third, it explores children’s visits to their family home that can trigger or modify old self-sacrifice patterns. Finally, it demonstrates the perceived gains or losses resulting from parents’ long-term sacrifices connected with feeding their children.