Article by Fabafterfifty
It’s that time of year with many parents dreading the thought of becoming an emptynester as they wave their children off to university and an independent life. As they start making plans which don’t revolve around their children, spare a thought for those parents who made the adjustment to child free living only to have their adult children turn into ‘boomerang kids’.
With poor job prospects and an increased cost of living, it seems many emptynesters who waved their children off to university and adulthood are seeing their children return home to live. So for anyone looking for a child free household and the chance to turn bedrooms into hobby rooms or even downsize, perhaps they should wait, it seems that 27% of graduates on heading for home- and mum’s cooking. In fact it seems more than 3 million children over the age of 20 have returned home to live- with 57% of parents not too happy about the situation. 200,000 boomerang kids in the UK are over the age of 36!
As more adult children return home, the stigma associated with doing so reduces, clearing the path for more to follow.
What impact do boomerang kids have on finances?
When the boomerang kids return home it would appear that 46% of parents find themselves out of pocket while 69% of the boomerang kids say they save more.
Family relationships when the ‘Boomerangs’ move back home
Well, it would appear that while a large proportion of parents of ‘boomerangs’ are quite happy to see their children return, nearly 60% have mixed or fairly negative feelings. And it would appear it’s still Mum who’s expected to do the cooking as 25% revert to the old parent/child roles!
Parenting expert Sue Atkins advises to set the ground rules for boomerang kids early on, with everyone knowing what’s acceptable and what’s expected.
Research conducted by leading market research company Mintel http://www.mintel.com.
Photo credit: Graur Codrin
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