It seems that the more things change, the more they stay the same. During the era of our grandparents, people stayed at home longer. Even though they were technically adults, they stayed around the homestead until they were married or had good jobs that allowed them to live on their own. Even after that, in some cases, they stayed home to help with the family farm or support their aging parents. Now, that trend is back, except in reverse. Parents are supporting their adult children whose adulthood has been delayed by the bad economy.
While it’s often a set-up for comedy, as in the Will Ferrell/John C. Reilly movie Step Brothers, it’s also a sad reality. “Parents are now being called on to provide financial and other kinds of assistance to their young adult children,” said Barbara Ray of Hired Pen Inc. “A century ago, the opposite was true. Then, young adults often helped their parents when they went to work and especially if they still lived together.”
These days, college costs more than ever and is worth less than ever, while beginning wages for someone entering the work force are lower than ever. These days, a young man with a college education earns $3500 less than a young man with the same college education did in 1975, after adjusting for inflation. This is why I had to move back in with my parents after college, and a lot of people are in the same boat when they graduate and enter the job market.
This is why I’m going to make my children learn a useful trade.
Tags: delayed adulthood, bad economy forces adults to live with their parents, living with the parents, grown-up children, independence, family living, semi-autonomy