Some Men Are Moving Back Home To Be "Trad Sons" and Live With Their Parents

At some undetermined point, trad wives, or traditional wives, began to take social media by storm. These are wives who live in a way that they see as traditional in the sense that they and their husbands take on traditional, or stereotypical, gender roles in their homes.

Now, however, there are "trad sons." But what is the meaning of trad sons, and how are they different from any other sons out there?

There is nothing wrong with adult sons wanting to move back home to either save money or take care of elderly parents. But, judging by what trad sons have said on social media, what trad sons actually do might have nothing to do with taking care of their parents.

Unfortunately, trad sons might be more about taking advantage of the spoils of moving back home and living a cushy lifestyle.

To be fair, there might be a couple of different meanings behind what trad sons are. According to one user on TikTok, trad sons choose to stay home and do the cooking and cleaning for their parents. They don't work outside of their parents' home, but they earn their keep, so to speak, by taking care of the home so their parents can work.

It's not a bad deal for some adult sons, and at the very least, they are doing useful work at home to help their parents. The endgame for those trad sons is a little unclear, but hey, we aren't here to judge. Another TikTok user, however, showed what seems to be a different trad son.

In his video, he shows a day in the life of an adult son living at home with his "billionaire parents."

In his video, he shows how he gets out of bed at a leisurely pace, drives his luxury car to get a haircut, eats breakfast a little after noon, and ends his day with a five-mile run. And all the while he seems to have no responsibilities to speak of. For the most part, though, the idea of a trad son seems to be moving home or not moving out and staying on to help take care of the house.

Think of it as a stay-at-home son.

Another user on TikTok shared her take in a video where she explains what these trad sons are doing and how she thinks it might be more an ick than anything else.

"It's basically grown men in their 20s and 30s who live with their moms rent-free," she says. "And in return, they do household chores, like cook, clean, and run errands. You know, like a husband. Except instead of their wife, it's their mother."

Trad wives choose to stay at home and take care of the house and potentially even kids instead of working. Some women choose this lifestyle, but it's often in the name of spending more time with their children or cultivating a certain relationship with their husband.

For trad sons, though, it's not totally clear what the benefit is in a deeper level other than living a cushier lifestyle than they would if they lived on their own, worked, and paid all of their own bills.