An old story that never gets old...unfortunately

Why Some Kids Never Leave the Nest from 2009. 

It's an international phenomenon: the kids that won't go away. The Italians call them "mammon"(irony!) or "mama's boys". The Japanese call them "parasaito shinguru", or "parasite singles". In the United States they are known as "boomerangs", and in the U.K. they are called "KIPPERS", which is short for "kids in parents' pockets eroding retirement savings". U.S. census data for the year 2000 showed that more than 25% of Americans between the ages of 18 and 34 were living with their parents. For those aged 18 to 24, the number is 56% of men and 43% of women. Surveys in the United Kingdom and Japan suggest a similar situation in those countries. In this article, we discuss some of the reasons why kids may be living with their parents for longer periods of time and outline some steps that parents can take to reduce the potential for negative effects - both for their kids and for themselves. 

I have no idea what the current stats are, but they can't be any better, given the imploding European economy and the attitude of entitlement that seems to have spread like a disease among those of the 'younger' generations --ie. everyone under 60 (see entire Occupy movement). 


I'm not about to trash multi-generational living arrangements (I grew up with The Waltons, for Pete's sake), since they are a fact of life in many cultures. But there's a big honkin' difference between living with your elderly folks in order to take care of them (in which case, they are probably actually living with you), and living off your mom and dad, long after you should be out on your own. While there are few things more disgusting than parasitic adult children (the Japanese have it about right--their moniker is a lot less sporty than 'kippers' or 'boomerangs'), I don't have a whole lot of sympathy for the parents of these kids either.


I mean, what did they teach their children, if not that one of the purposes of life is to go forth and make one's mark, to become independent and in some way contribute to society? If, on the other hand, these parents taught their kids that life is one long party and Junior is the guest of honour, then no wonder they are left footing the bill. A parasite, after all, needs a compliant host. If you don't have the courage to tell your kids to grow up, you probably deserve every moment of misery and eventual poverty they inflict on you.