Children or best friends

I have a very close relationship (as does my husband) with our 2 adult sons (38 and 35). The eldest was living 1/2 a mile away but is staying with us for the moment, whilst he gets somewhere else to live. The other son also lives 1/2 a mile away. We all get on extremely well, but there are things I wouldn't want to tell them (and vice versa), so although we're all very close, they aren't my friends.

My adult DC are not my friends as such. I love them and care about them but I don't often confide in them or gossip. I save that for my friends.
I'm not their friend on FB for example.

They have their own friends. I have mine. If I grumble about my DC to my friends I can get very protective if they criticize them!. I like them to defend my DC.

I’ve never wanted to be my children’s best friends. As my children have grown up the relationship changed but I still share things with my best friend that I don’t with my DC.

Don’t know if being a single parent made a difference but my
daughters were 5 and 7 when my husband died. My role was
definitely the parent but a very close bond developed with time, my elder daughter was my best friend . My younger
daughter married and moved away , my elder daughter lived
close to me until her death.

Not best friends, I love all three so much and our happiest and saddest times are shared together.
A good parent child relationship is the most precious thing I have.
My relationship with my best friend is also precious but different.

Friends are kept separately as far as I'm concerned.

I love to spend time with my AC we make each other laugh.
My daughter and I can discuss nearly everything but as she says "There are things I don't want to tell my mother"
We have a friendly relationship but I am not her friend.

When they were young my role was definitely parental, they needed guidance and boundaries as well as love. Now they are adults the relationship has changed, as Septimia said relationships evolve with time. My adult children offer me advice now and I help them if I can. It is a mixture now of parent and friend.

I don’t want to be my son or daughter’s best friend.

Perish the thought! How sad would that be?

Children need parenting so shouldn't be treated as friends.

Adult children - well it's a different matter. I think the relationship with them evolves as they move out of their teens and become independent.

My DS is still my child but is also more of a friend than he was when younger - a sort of mixture. I can talk to him about things I wouldn't have before he became an adult, but there are still things I wouldn't say! And sometimes he still needs a bit of parental advice, usually requested, but it's up to him if he takes it!