The relationship between parents and children changes throughout the family life cycle. After adolescence, as children's dependence still remains, there is no linear passage to adulthood. Hence, a new phase of transition to adult life is experienced by the family. During this period, there is the need for parents to keep supporting children's developing process. The goal of the present research is to understand parents' experience in this phase. A qualitative methodology is adopted, through interviews with middle-class mothers and fathers living in Rio de Janeiro whose children are between 15 and 26 years old. We concluded that parents participate by offering support to their young children's autonomy, while they relativize the hierarchical difference when get closer to them.
Parents-children relationship; transition to adulthood; family life cycle; hierarchy; autonomy