The Toll on Parents When Kids Return Home

The Wall Street Journal ^ | NOVEMBER 10, 2011 | JOANN S. LUBLIN

[MinorityRepublican]

Faith Jacobson, center, with her mother, Debra, and father, Jerry, at her dad's home. She splits her time between her parents' residences.

Many young adults find themselves still tethered to the Bank of Mom and Dad, and that dependence is taking a toll.

Kevin Davis moved back home last December after receiving a business finance degree from the University of North Carolina. He has yet to land a full-time job.

The 25-year-old often commiserates with his father, John, an information-technology professional who was laid off as a project manager in October 2010 for the second time since 2007. "At times, it's hard for me to keep up my own spirits as well as Kevin's," admits John Davis, a resident of Winston-Salem, N.C., who currently receives unemployment insurance.

As recent college graduates scramble to find full-time jobs, numerous parents are helping their children pay bills or letting them live at home again. About 59% of parents provide or recently provided financial assistance to children aged 18 to 39 who weren't students, concluded a May survey of nearly 1,100 people by the National Endowment for Financial Education.

According to Census data, 5.9 million Americans between 25 and 34 years of age—nearly a quarter of whom have bachelor's degrees—live with their parents, a significant increase from 4.7 million before the recession.

But many parents can't afford the extra expense. A full 26% of those polled by the nonprofit group took on more debt to help their offspring, 13% delayed a planned life event such as a home purchase, and 7% postponed retirement.

Compounding the problem is the fact that certain parents are crowding the younger generation out of the job market because their support of their grown kids means they can't afford to retire.

[Esther Ruth]

And since the thread went dead - where are all the old geezers on FR who wish the girl in the photo didn’t live at home with her parents so they could “hit on her”. Thank goodness she does live with them so as to keep the predators away with some big old broom - ow whatever it takes :)

[EBH]

Then we will disagree.

If you read back through my posts again, you will see I did not advocate at any point tossing the young adults out.

I noted that the parents that take their children back in and fail to treat them as adults, have expectations for them to be adults, demand participation in the financial running of the home are continueing to fail their “children.” I noted it was the culture these young adults have been subjected too that have created this problem. Adults sucking off their parents and contributing nothing to the family or society is the “sin.”

As far as the secular family pulling together I would direct you to consider the intergenerational welfare system.

Your heart is in the right place with your ideals, but America’s secular family is far from it.

[AppyPappy]

“John Davis”

Ohhh...I think I know him. I lived in Winston and I did IT.

[AppyPappy]

After graduation from college, I lived with my folks for 8 months. They said they actually enjoyed it. They had forgotten I existed.

[yarddog]

I just thought of another personal situation.

My Daughter’s Maternal Grandfather who was moderately successful and moderately to very rich, lost both his Children and his Wife by the time he was 80.

He had to have surgery and when he got out, his Granddaughter, (My Daughter) told him to move into their small but decent home. He would enjoy having his Granddaughter and Great Grandchildren around him.

He did so and after a few weeks, he sold his on home and bought a really nice one for them all. It will be my Son-in-Law and Daughter’s when he dies as will I guess everything he owns.