In the middle of his junior year we pulled our youngest son out of a very expensive out-of-state university and brought him back home. This was a year and a half ago. His grades were below our agreed-upon minimum. In addition to grades, there was the unpleasant matter of him being dragged in front of the dean on an alcohol violation. After logging on to his student account (he gave us the password) to pay tuition one month, we saw a $350 “get out of jail” payment. Then there were the 20 or so parking violations around campus because he was too lazy to walk to class, or perhaps couldn’t get out of bed in time to walk to class. At the end of his fall semester junior year, having not fulfilled his obligations to make grades and behave responsibly, he came back home to live with us in the basement. We gave him enough warning in advance to allow the reality to sink in. We allowed him to enroll at the nearby state university for the spring semester. His grades and test scores were good enough for him to get accepted into the university’s business school. Long story short: Two weeks ago he graduated with a BS in accounting. Despite a few bumps in the road, he managed to graduate in four years. He loaded up with classes last summer to make up for the credits he lost in the transfer. We told him he had to keep a part-time job, which he did. This spring he was working at a start-up, doing everything from basic accounting to helping load their product into boxes to ship out—actual physical labor. He had an interview trip this week in Texas. Yesterday he texted me (doesn’t call anymore) to let me know he’d been offered a job on the spot. A real job with a decent salary and real benefits. He’s moving out of the house and driving to Texas on Thursday. We are proud of that young man and glad we didn’t baby him. Pulling him out of that private school was the best thing we could have ever done. Living in the basement gave him a large mouthful of reality. Having your kid living in the basement isn’t always bad. As long as they eventually move out!