Trailer: Generation Boomerang
Dreamfilm Productions, a Canadian production company, has made a documentary about adult children living at home. It airs November 10 on CBC’s Doc Zone. You can see me in the trailer, and in the documentary, talking about why this is becoming a more common trend, and what it means for the families involved. Click the image to watch the trailer.
“Boomerang child” now in Merriam-Webster
The boomerang child phenomenon has become so commonplace (and the term so commonly used) that “boomerang child” has made it into the latest edition of the Merriam-Webster Collegiate Dictionary. Here’s their definition: “a young adult who returns to live at his or her family home especially for financial reasons.” According to Merriam-Webster, the term was first used in 1988.
The Urban Dictionary, Investopedia, and Wikipedia have definitions of boomerang children, boomerang, and the boomerang generation, respectively, but I believe this is the first time the term has made it into a “serious,” print-based dictionary. It looks like both the trend, and the term, are here to stay.
Boomerang generation = Entitlement generation?
Margaret Wente, a columnist for the Globe and Mail, a national newspaper in Canada, today published an opinion piece about the “entitlement generation,” and how their expectations for life are rather out of whack with the realities of today’s economy, and today’s world. Among her points? A recent survey showed that new university graduates expected an average starting salary of $53,000 per year. The realities of the job market, of course, will not bear these expectations out. The question is, will these young people accept jobs they think are below them, or hold out for a job they feel is worthy? And if they do accept what they feel to be sub-par jobs, will they approach them with the openness, willingness to learn, and positive attitude needed to advance in a company, and in a career?
With these questions having no obvious answer, it’s not surprising that so many young people are now living with — and financially relying upon — their parents. Wente argues parents are to blame for the lack of ambition and reality-consciousness of their children, having told them since birth that they were successful always, even when they weren’t. It may seem unfair to let reality in to the parent-child relationship at this stage, but it truly is better late than never. If boomerang kids feel entitled to live at home until the perfect, $50K+ job comes along, they will be at home for a very, very long time.
During my post-college stay with Mom and Dad, I worked for slightly more than minimum wage at a bookstore. It was a long way from the lofty career I’d pictured, but I was, after all, 21 years old with only retail and service job experience. The high-level career job offers were not pouring in. But, I did earn some money — enough to get out of the house after eight months — and I threw myself at every opportunity that little job offered. I started a community book club. I asked to become the liaison with community newspaper ad reps, then started writing some of the copy for newspaper ads. I launched a very basic store website. I never made more than $9 an hour, but I left that job with real, relevant experience to convert into a first “Real Job,” which turned into a career. That member of the “entitlement generation” living in your basement needs to take a similar approach. And, even if you’ve coddled them all along, it’s up to you to help them see that no dream job offer is coming. To make it on their own, they’ve got to make their own opportunities. It starts by looking for a job, even if it’s not a career.
New UK stats: 3 million adult children living at home
Mintel, a leading market research company, has released a report jam-packed with interesting statistics about adult children living at home in the UK. The report itself is worth a read, and you can find it here.
Here are some of the highlights:
- 27% of new university graduates will be living with their parents
- 3 million adults are living with their parents in the UK
- 196,000 adults over age 36 are living with their parents in the UK
- 45% of parents say they have less money while their adult kids are living with them
- 18% of parents say it’s more stressful with adult children living at home
What’s most interesting, though, is that while most adult children move home either because of financial uncertainty or the end of a relationship, some move home just because they want to be pampered!
According to Ina Mitskavets, Consumer and Lifestyles Analyst at Mintel:
“While millions of boomerang children return home because of financial reasons – our research reveals this is not a clear cut case, many return simply to experience TLC, home comforts or simply because they have had enough of rented accommodation – and stick around because of this.”
If your adult children are moving back home, it’s important to have conversations about expectations beforehand. if you’re expecting them to be reasonably independent while they’re moving home to soak up your tender loving care, resentment and bad feelings will be sure to follow.
Adult children living at home in California: Graphic
This interesting info-graphic from the Bay Area News Group shows how the percentage of adult children living at home has increased in California in the last 10 years. The most interesting thing to not? Adults over 18 now make up 30.7% of the children living with their parents. That is, almost a third of parents with children at home are living with adult children.
Adult children living at home | Image Credit: Bay Area News Group
You can read the article that originally featured this infographic on the InsideBayArea website here.
Adult children at home in Australia? Fill out a University of Queensland Survey
Univerity of Queensland psychology honors student Emma Tarrant is conducting research to investigate “the attitudes and perceptions of the parents of adult children who still live at home.” Her goal is to determine how Australian parents are dealing with the fact that their children are staying at home longer, and whether they would benefit from additional support. You can read more about the study, and find a link to complete the short online survey, on the University of Queensland website here.
Toronto TV show looking for families with adult kids at home
54% of parents say there’s no set time when adult kids need to leave
The latest 60 Minutes/Vanity fair poll asked an interesting question: Generally speaking, at what point do you think children are too old to be living at home with their parents? The surprising answer? Fifty-four percent of parents say there’s no set time when they should leave — not when they get married, graduate from college, or even get a full-time job. What about you — would you welcome your kids back home at any age, no matter their marital or employment situation? You can see the poll on the Vanity Fair website here.
Contest for stories about living with parents
MyApartmentMap.com is currently running a contest for the best story from an adult child about lessons learned living with their parents. The prize is $100, and you can learn more about the contest at http://www.facebook.com/MyApartmentMap. Who knows — it could be a neat way to get your adult child thinking about what they have gained from the experience of living with you… and I’m sure $100 wouldn’t hurt on the path to independence!
Please note that adultchildrenlivingathome.com is not affiliated with this contest — just thought I’d let you know about it. Enjoy!
Interesting perspective from an adult son living at home
This video from WUSA9 in Rockville, MD, shows an interesting perspective from an adult son living at home. The family dynamics in the video are interesting to watch, but the revelation comes at the end, when the young man says that he would view having his own place as a “luxury” — the luxury part being that he wouldn’t “have to hear the nagging.” But he views that luxury as being worth only $100-$200 — not the $1,000 it would cost him to get an apartment of his own. So, he’s happy to stay put and live for free, with being “nagged” the only price he has to pay…
Do your kids see you as a nuisance they’d pay a few hundred dollars to avoid? If so, it’s time to have a serious talk about the reasons why your adult child is living at home, and a timeline for them to move out.
This video is from a WUSA9 news story at http://wusa9.com/news/article/153351/373/More-Adult-Kids-Live-With-Parents-