Do we give till it hurts? Between my friends, their friends, friends of theirs and people who've clicked onto this blog, there's a recurrent theme: How much, how often, for what and until when do we help our kids out financially.
It's all very personal, of course. But here's a little statistical oversight from a recent survey of some 400 parents of adult children:
90 % of us continue to support our children after they turn 18.
83 % of us support our children through higher education.
11 % of us help them to buy their first home.
It's a change from our generation. When we were young adults, the survey found, only 39 % of us who went on to college or beyond got help from their parents.
Why the change? Our kids need more help, survey researchers say. They're faced with high overall living costs, high levels of student debt and low starting salaries. Besides, we're better able to finance that support than were parents in the 1970s and 1980s. Well, that's what they say.
We often, of course, had to say no when the grown kids asked for money, but if we could help them, we did. It was such a huge relief when, in their 20s, they stopped asking! It felt like freedom for the parents, and maturity for the kids!
--Judy Laddon
Author http://www.sallythebook.com
Posted by: Judy Laddon | January 28, 2008 at 08:08 AM
I think it is hard for parents not to continue supporting their grown kids if (a) they can afford it and (b) the kids are responsible adults but burdened by the high cost of living. Personally, it would be hard to see our own kids struggling without bothering to lend a helping hand.
Posted by: Tot's Mom | February 01, 2008 at 07:11 PM