Oxford parents are amongst the least likely to feel a sense of freedom when their children leave home.

With university starts in full swing, research into the impact of empty nest syndrome has revealed that Oxford parents are amongst the least likely to feel a sense of freedom when their children fly the nest, with less than half, 47.6 per cent, believing that to be the case – considerably lower than the 62.6 per cent UK average.

By contrast, a large proportion, 73.8 per cent, felt a sense of loss, which was higher than the UK average of 70.5 per cent.

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Furthermore, just 57.1 per cent felt their children leaving home offered them ‘more opportunity’ to do new things in life – compared against the 62.6 per cent average taken from UK wide.

The results came as part of a wider study by Handsale Care Homes, which saw 3Gem Research and Insights poll 2,000 UK parents aged between 45 and 55 who had children aged over 18, to understand the impact of empty nest syndrome and whether there was opportunity for a role in care to alleviate its effects.

Commenting on the findings, Rishi Sodha, Care Director at Handsale, said: “When children leave home and fly the proverbial nest it’s a time of mixed emotions.

“Are you pleased that you’ll have more time to do the things you love in life or are you simply upset at them leaving and feeling a sense of loss?

“It seems in Oxford, they’re much more inclined to feel the latter.”

 

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This story was written by Matthew Norman, he joined the team in 2022 as a Facebook community reporter.

Matthew covers Bicester and focuses on finding stories from diverse communities.

Get in touch with him by emailing: Matthew.norman@newsquest.co.uk

Follow him on Twitter: @OxMailMattN1

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