Saturday February 4, 2012
Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator, Saturday February 4, 2012
When the kid comes back
When Joey Temprile finished high school, he promptly moved out and started university. As soon as he graduated, he moved back home with his parents. More than two years later he’s still there and doesn’t plan to leave any day soon.
At 25 and fully employed with the government, Temprile is an official member of the so-called boomerang generation, a growing breed of young adults who are returning home. Half of young Canadians in their 20s live with their parents, a phenomenon observers attribute to the troubled economy and ever-changing family dynamic.
As debate rages over whether or not the trend is troublesome, families living with adult children say the key to making it work is communication, respect and boundaries. Neither Temprile nor his parents have any concern with the fact that he and his brother Matt, 22, are still at home — in fact, they like it.
“From a parenting perspective it gives you the opportunity to talk with your child and relate to your child in a way you never have before,” says Temprile’s father Dan. “That’s been an enjoyable evolution of our relationship.”
Temprile feels the same way and notes any downfalls to the situation are overshadowed by the benefits. “I can live with (less) freedom if it means I can have a house at 26 or 27.”
It’s a clash of expectations that most often leads to conflict when children return home, says Christina Newberry, author of The Hands-on Guide to Surviving Adult Children Living at Home (Self-published, $30.53). After a taste of independence, many children struggle with the restrictions of being back under their parents’ roof. Likewise, their parents wonder what the new house rules should be and worry if their fledgling will ever leave the nest.(Source: Hamilton Spectator)