I've Decided to Do Something Drastic Once My Daughter Turns 18. She Has No Idea.

"I've decided to basically cut off my daughter once she's finished with high school, which will be just over five months from now. She didn't do anything wrong, I'm not eager to be rid of her, and I could easily continue to provide for her basic needs, but I won't. I myself lived with my parents into my 20s, but I feel like this did me no favors, and I've come to believe in "sink or swim" and "hard knock" life philosophies."

"My only question is when and how to deliver this news to my daughter. I don't want to ruin her birthday or the rest of her senior year, so I may wait until after graduation to tell her she's on her own. I've been trying to instill frugality, budgeting, and saving, but my daughter doesn't yet know how important that will soon be for her."

"My daughter and I have a tender, loving relationship, and I'm sure she will be surprised to find out she's being turned away. Or maybe she will surprise me and fly the nest without being pushed. She actually told me months ago that I shouldn't pay for college; that is actually what got me started down this road."

A parent has decided to stop providing financial support to their daughter immediately after high school graduation, approximately five months away. The parent believes in "sink or swim" philosophy, citing their own experience living with parents into their 20s as counterproductive. The daughter has done nothing wrong, and the parent could afford to continue support but chooses not to. The parent has been teaching frugality and budgeting without revealing the impending cutoff. The central dilemma involves timing: whether to inform the daughter now so she can prepare, or wait until after graduation to avoid stressing her senior year. The parent hopes to maintain a non-codependent relationship afterward but acknowledges the daughter may distance herself temporarily.

Read at Slate Magazine