Global Breaking News - Tuesday, May 14, 2024

The Whole Family Under One Roof?
If you’re like many Americans, you have just spent a few days in close quarters with your parents, grandchildren, siblings, etc. You’re ready to go home, or ready for them to go home. But for a growing number of families in which adult children can’t afford to live on their own, this is the new normal.

These “boomerang” children have been the butt of jokes on late-night television and even in commercials, but what’s so bad about moving back in with your parents? Could extended families under one roof — a common arrangement in years past — be the way of the future?

* Depends on the Country and the Culture
The same demographic pattern that is defined as a national catastrophe by the Japanese elicits a shrug in Italy.
 
* The Only Faithful Human Institution
The cure for our current demographic disaster is the pooling of resources across generations. The idea of the nuclear family is now obviously obsolete.
 
* I’m Not Seeing a Boomerang
Family structure changes slowly over time; economic ups and downs have little effect on who lives with whom.
 
* Solidarity and Support
Living with parents as young adults provides the chance to know parents as people and for parents to see their children as grownups.
 
* A Sensible Use of Spare Rooms
Boomerang kids and baby boomers are learning about the balancing act between proximity and privacy.