Parenting Grown Children: What Dr. Spock Forgot to Tell Us

Money Matters: In the U.K. they call them KIPPERS

Parents in Great Britain face the same fiscal pressures as we do here--their grown children could use a bit of a financial boost. Here are two recent stories on the issue. This one looks at KIPPERS, Kids in Parents' Pockets Eroding Retirement Savings. It's from an Irish newspaper and one point it makes is this:

"There was a time when parents were distraught when their son or daughter left home at a young age to emigrate, but now they are upset that they cannot get young Sean or Sarah to leave the nest.

Many adult children appreciate the home comforts and know that the 'Bank of Mum and Dad' will pick up the tab. Why wouldn't they keep living at home well into their 30s when mother does their laundry and father pays for the food?"

And this one is more about the stats. The survey found one interesting point I haven't seen in other studies of parents helping kids with housing. Here it is:
"Recent research from Abbey Mortgages also suggests that first-born children are more likely to receive financial help from their parents when purchasing their first home.

A study by Abbey showed that 17% of first-borns received financial help when purchasing a home, while this figure fell to 12% for second-born children and 9% for third-born siblings."

Then and Now: The 30-year perspective

We all know life has changed a lot since we were young adults. A recent Canadian news story puts some numbers on those changes. Here's the contrast on 22-year-old Canadians: In 1971, 3/4 had left school; 1/2 had married; 1/4 had children. Fast forward 30 years: only 1/2 had left school; a mere 1/5 were either married or in a conjugal relationship; 1/11 had children.

The generation gap is narrowing, the article points out. It's not just economic factors but the "egalitarian relationships" parents have with their adult children. Makes them less in a rush to go anywhere.

And that may not be a bad thing. Certainly, here in the U.S., young adults don't seem to be in a hurry to marry. Among the more affluent, they do seem to be scurrying off to places far from home to experience life before they get serious jobs and choose partners for the long haul. That could even help them settle down in a better place in the long run.