<p>My 21-year old daughter, who just got her AA and transferred to university where we just moved, now says she wants to quit college. She says she's not motivated anymore but not sure how motivated she'll then be at a job. She's a smart girl but can be a bit lazy and unmotivated, especially if she's not interested in any classes. Any suggestions?</p>
<p>Have her take a leave of absence from her school and see if she can get a job. Give her a deadline and tell her that she has to either be employed full time by then or back to school she goes. Not being able to find a job may motivate her.</p>
<p>Is she able to get a job in her field? Working sometimes gives you the time to gain a new perspective and decide what to do next. She is an adult, so have that thoughtful conversation with her and then let her come to her own decisions. You can’t have a game of tug of war, if you are pushing the rope.</p>
<p>She 21. Clearly an adult. We need to support our adult children in their decisions. </p>
<p>If she wants to quit college and get a job, support her decision. If you can have the kind of relationship where you can play devil’s advocate yet still support her decision at the end, then maybe do that. However, you really have no choice but to support her adult decision, and make sure she knows that you support it.</p>
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<p>She doesn’t want to be in school,but she’s not sure she wants to work, either? I’m not sure I understand what she’s wanting to do.</p>
<p>I guess I’d want to know what her plan is before quitting school. If she has one, I’d support it, but if she’s just going from something she doesn’t like to nothing, I’d tell her she needs an alternative plan.</p>
<p>There are more people than you might think who take the “ten year plan” for completing a college degree. Let her try new things through “real life” and discover an area she’s really interested in. It might be a great idea or a terrible one, only time will tell, and she’s saying she needs that time. Four straight years is not for everyone.</p>
<p>Good luck!</p>
<p>Well… at our house, our kids are free to live at home as long as they are going to school. I actually would probably allow them to live at home while working full time if they wanted to, especially if they were saving (and not blowing) the income they would save by not paying for their own place. </p>
<p>But if my kid came to me and said they were quitting college and not going back, I would probably tell them that it is time to support themselves, and they will need to cover their own expenses (apartment, food, insurance, car, vacations, etc.). Sometimes the best cure for laziness in school (and the best increase for motivation) is trying to pay your own bills on a minimum wage job.</p>
<p>If she can get a job with her AA, she can go to school part time when she is ready.</p>
<p>If she can’t get a job, you probably need a chat to see what has her turned off from college.</p>