This great article from The Guardian examines some of the family effects of the ongoing economic challenges worldwide. Among them: fewer people having children, women taking shorter maternity leaves and, yes, more adult children living at home.
Category Archives: Statistics
77% of new college grads living at home
A new survey by CollegeGrad.com showed that 77 percent of respondents said they were living at home in 2008, a huge increase from 67 percent in a in a 2006 survey.
This article from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette looks at the study and talks to some local families who are dealing with adult college graduates moving back home.
Families with adult children living at home have more arguments
A new study from the Australian Institute of Family Studies shows that 23- and 24-year-olds living at home have 6 times more arguments with their parents than those who have moved out. According to an article about the study in The Herald Sun:
Almost one in five young adults who live at home argue with their parents weekly, compared with just 3 per cent who’ve moved out.
Both parents and offspring report less positive family relationships than those who have cut the apron strings.
It can definitely be a strain to maintain an effective parent-child relationship when your children stay at home longer than you’d planned. Remember that communication is the foundation of any good relationship. Click here for tips on communication strategies to use with your adult children living at home.
23% of British baby boomers financially support adult kids
According to an article in the Telegraph:
One in four – 23 per cent – give regular financial help to their grown-up children and seven per cent have adult offspring living with them who don’t contribute financially to the household.
As we discuss in our book, it’s inappropriate — potentially even damaging — for adults to live at home without making some sort of financial contribution to the household. Even if they can’t pay market rent, it’s important for your adult children’s self esteem to feel they are contributing, and it’s important for you to have help with the additional expenses (electricity, gas, phone) you incur because of the extra person living in your home. You can read some of our tips here.
New Spanish reality show to get adult children to leave home
Following on the heels of Australia’s “The Nest” reality show, Spanish television channel La Sexta is looking for families to participate in a new reality show where adult children who live at home are nudged out to live in a shared flat.
The show may be inspired by troubling new statistics from a recent survey in Spain:
- Up to a quarter of Spanish young adults (under 35) who have left home in the past two years have already boomeranged home or are planning to do so soon.
- Nearly 60 per cent of Spanish young adults aged 18 to 34 still live with their parents.
- More than 25% of Spanish kids stay at home into their 30s.
Source: TimesOnline
One-third of parents believe kids will live at home until their mid-thirties
A new survey from Skandia shows that while the majority of parents hope their children will be able to go to university, own a home, and become financially independent, more than a third admitted it was likely their children would be living at home until their mid-thirties
Michelle Cracknell, strategy director at Skandia, said
While most parents hope their children will be financially comfortable in adult life, it is clear that many parents see adult life starting when their children are in their late 30s.
Source: The Press Association
New UK survey shows 94% of parents give money to adult children
A new survey of parents with children 18 years and older conducted by UK insurance group LV found some scary statistics about how much money UK parents are spending on their adult children. Among the findings:
- Parents spend an average of £21,540 supporting their children after age 18
- 94% of parents continue to contribute financially towards education, houses, cars, and living costs after their kids reach 18
- Parents contribute an average of £5,602 to their child’s first home
- 42% of parents give their children more than £1,000 for a first car
… and the two most staggering statistics:
- 79% of those with grandchildren are supporting both generations
- 45% of parents aged 70 or older are still helping their children financially!
Source: The Press Association.
Welcome to extended adolescence
We recently attended a conference where Max Valiquette, President and CEO of youthography.com was a keynote speaker. He shared some interesting insights about a new trend he calls “extended adolescence.”
If your adult children are still living at home (or have boomeranged home again) you already know that adolescence (that state of almost-adulthood) is lasting longer than ever before. For example:
- in larger cities, 54-59% of 20-29-year-olds live at home
- the average age to graduate from university is now 25 (20 years ago it was 23)
- the average age of first marriage is 28 (20 years ago it was 25)
- the average age to give birth to your first child is 29 (20 years ago it was 26)
What’s also interesting is that kid are entering adolescence earlier than ever before:
- the average kid is put into their first organized educational “classroom” before age 4
- the average kid tries their first cigarette by age 13
- kids now have to make decisions about what courses to take in high school that can profoundly affect the direction their lives will take (starting as early as age 14)
Fifty years ago, adolescence as a concept didn’t exist. You were a child, then you were adult. Now, we have this extended concept of adolescence that lasts for 10, 20, even up to 30 years. How is this changing the way you relate to your kids — and how they view your responsibilities towards them?