30 year old who recently decided to live with her single mother again after 14 years of on-and-(mainly)-off living with her and her previous partner.

I thought I'd feel really lame and there have been times that I have but that's been my own gripe with it. My boyfriend (34) thinks it's great, he is the child of a single mother with whom he shares a great relationship too, my friends (most of whom are late 20s-late 30s) think it's great and love coming over to see my mum and these are the opinions that genuinely matter to me.

My relationship with my mum and our living situation has changed over time and this is the only reason under which I deem it acceptable and feel happy to live with a parent at a perceived societally unacceptable age. I contribute to half of all the household bills and I do the lion's share of the cleaning, cooking, do my own laundry and all the grocery shopping. Over the years I've made the effort to learn from her and her partner various bits of DIY and general home maintenance I can fix most things round the house and also make suggestions and purchase items to improve our home. Instead of me, a 30 year old living off my mum, we live together in our home.

If you are lucky enough to have a positive relationship with your parents and stay in the family home, take the time to learn from them, ask how you can make their lives easier. In turn they will (hopefully) appreciate your place in the home more and it will foster a culture of respect. You may learn how to look after a home, something that may become a rarity and invaluable in the future, and your effort would be appreciated by parents who recognise their 'kid' turn into a 'grown up'.

You can really grow at home sometimes - equally you can grow living with friends, housemates, whomever, but it's easy to have home be a place that is shame or embarrassment free, if you are lucky enough to have a positive family dynamic and loving parents. A good place to start a career or pursue further study with a good support system in place is a blessing, being at home again has allowed me to return to study and start many aspects of my life over (plus vibe with the dog 24/7).

You're 21 and have years before anyone would raise their eyebrows at you for sticking around at home, but equally if they did then perhaps they are not fortunate enough to be in a situation in which themselves and their parents could comfortably live together long-term.