LONDON (Reuters Life!) - "Boomerang kids" who treat the family home like a free hotel are driving their parents to distraction, a leading British charity has warned.
Lifestyle clashes abound -- from piles of laundry and mounds of debt to drug and alcohol abuse -- with one parent complaining "our home became a war ground of constant arguments."
Parents seem to seesaw between frustration about their children still living at home and feeling that at least they are happy and safe.
Parentline Plus, has been bombarded with desperate calls from beleaguered parents to their helpline, and is developing a self-help guide for parents with the plaintive title ""Will They Ever Leave The Nest?"
Callers to the helpline are concerned about aggressive behavior -- both verbal and physical -- from their children and worried about their drug and drink consumption.
For "Boomerang kids" are a growing band.
Government figures show that 58 percent of men and 39 percent of women aged 20-24 live with their parents in England.
Weighed down with student debt, battling to get onto the housing ladder, marrying much later than their parents' generation, they find the family home is an easy and attractive option.
The charity said it was no longer safe to assume that once they reach adulthood, young people become independent and trouble-free overnight.
The charity's chief executive Dorit Braun said: ""Living with young adults is as perplexing and concerning as any other stage in a parent's journey, yet parenting strategies seem to end with adulthood as though once children become adults, the parents are off the hook."
She urged the government to provide parents with more information on housing benefits, grants and training for children reluctant to leave home.
After researching the growing problem, the independent charity suggested a set of rules to avoid domestic warfare breaking out on all fronts:
- Get them to pay rent
- Agree on household chores
- Don't wait on them hand and foot
- Speak to them if behavior upsets you
- Be ready to say "I love you but not your behavior."
Post subject: Re: "Boomerang kids" driving parents to distraction
Posted: Fri Feb 08, 2008 5:35 pm
too drunk to moderate properly
Joined: Sun Oct 17, 2004 7:19 pm Posts: 39068 Location: Chapel Hill, NC, USA Gender: Male
I don't even like being in my parents' house for longer than a weekend.
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Post subject: Re: "Boomerang kids" driving parents to distraction
Posted: Thu Jul 21, 2011 12:09 pm
Menace to Dogciety
Joined: Sat Oct 16, 2004 11:54 pm Posts: 12287 Location: Manguetown Gender: Male
Well, at least we can be the IT of home.
_________________ There's just no mercy in your eyes There ain't no time to set things right And I'm afraid I've lost the fight I'm just a painful reminder Another day you leave behind
Post subject: Re: "Boomerang kids" driving parents to distraction
Posted: Thu Jul 21, 2011 12:26 pm
Menace to Dogciety
Joined: Sat Oct 16, 2004 11:54 pm Posts: 12287 Location: Manguetown Gender: Male
EllisEamos wrote:
Human Bass wrote:
Well, at least we can be the IT of home.
oh yeah, that's the worst part.
I can take pleasure on making my mom looking dumb.
_________________ There's just no mercy in your eyes There ain't no time to set things right And I'm afraid I've lost the fight I'm just a painful reminder Another day you leave behind
Post subject: Re: "Boomerang kids" driving parents to distraction
Posted: Thu Jul 21, 2011 12:57 pm
Former PJ Drummer
Joined: Wed Nov 30, 2005 4:38 am Posts: 18049
B wrote:
I don't even like being in my parents' house for longer than a weekend.
This.
My greatest fear will never be having to move back in with them at any time, but the idea that they may have to move in with me when they're too old to take care of themselves. Oh the horror...
_________________ "A waffle is like a pancake with a syrup trap." - Mitch Hedberg
Post subject: Re: "Boomerang kids" driving parents to distraction
Posted: Thu Jul 21, 2011 1:00 pm
Coast to Coast
Joined: Sat Sep 22, 2007 6:21 am Posts: 23078 Location: Buenos Aires, Argentina Gender: Male
I have a real problem with this article and its depiction of 20-24 year olds as irresponsible, reckless abusers, when a big chunk of them are casualties of a reduced and competitive job market, or the only work they can find is unpaid internships.
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Post subject: Re: "Boomerang kids" driving parents to distraction
Posted: Thu Jul 21, 2011 1:03 pm
Former PJ Drummer
Joined: Wed Nov 30, 2005 4:38 am Posts: 18049
theplatypus wrote:
I have a real problem with this article and its depiction of 20-24 year olds as irresponsible, reckless abusers, when a big chunk of them are casualties of a reduced and competitive job market, or the only work they can find is unpaid internships.
ABC News: Billionaire to Pay Kids to Skip College
_________________ "A waffle is like a pancake with a syrup trap." - Mitch Hedberg
Post subject: Re: "Boomerang kids" driving parents to distraction
Posted: Thu Jul 21, 2011 1:11 pm
Red Mosquito, my libido
Joined: Sun May 21, 2006 2:02 am Posts: 91597 Location: Sector 7-G
theplatypus wrote:
I have a real problem with this article and its depiction of 20-24 year olds as irresponsible, reckless abusers, when a big chunk of them are casualties of a reduced and competitive job market, or the only work they can find is unpaid internships.
Yeah I thought the article was pretty bushleague in that regard.
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