I read a startling article this weekend about College grads that are moving back home after school. They are Gen Y or “The Millennials” and are now being referred to as ”Boomerang kids“ because they are choosing to return to the nest after college. In fact, an estimated
48 to 66 percent
of this year’s college grads will move back in with their Baby Boomer parents.
I can identify with the debt - I am still struggling to pay off my student loans with my monthly total being more than a car payment for an H1 Alpha Hummer at this point. According to the article:
The average graduate has $2,200 in credit card debt. Close to two-thirds of college kids have student loans, with an average debt of $17,600, according to the Center for Economic and Policy Research.
What startled me about the article was that while it obviously makes it easier on new grads from a financial perspective - many of them moved back home because they aren’t ready to forego the kind of lifestyle that their parents are able to afford them. I find this slightly revolting:
Many boomers also have more money. So their children, for the most part, are accustomed to cushy nests - nests that are nearly impossible to afford with student loans, meager starter salaries and bloated real estate prices.
I have to say that this return-to-the-nest pattern would be one of the major differences that I can see between my younger siblings and me. They have no real desire or drive to get out of my mom’s house and live on their own. While they may end up being better financial planners thanks to the extra years of mooching that I never had - here are my questions:
- What does this say about their ambition and independence as the next generation of workers?
- Does this change the type of messaging that we might use to reach out to them with recruitment marketing?
- Are American kids beginning to act more like Asian or Hispanic cultures where it is common for children to live with their parents as adults? Will they return the favor and take care of their parents later on?
At least we know from our recent post, GraySpace, that the boomers will have more in common with their ”adult” kids than previous generations. 
4 comments ↓
If you really want to scare yourself read this article:
http://www.psychologytoday.com/articles/index.php?term=pto-20041112-000010&page=1
One thing I wonder about is that when I graduated from college (I think around the same time as you, Shannon, so not that long ago), moving back in with the ‘rents was largely viewed as a failure of sorts, or at least a setback. As a result a lot of us stretched ourselves pretty thin in order to avoid the ignominy of it.
Likewise, when I graduated (before both of you, I am quite sure). And the one problem with the cushy parental nest? The parents are there!
I really hesitate to blame the kids though. Sounds to me like the parents aren’t challenging their kids with the expectation of financial independence and the willingness to tough it out and live on PB&J if they have to. I think many parents want to be friends with their kids so much that they don’t set boundaries.
Colin - The article was terrific and a very accurate representation I feel. The discussion around what the cell phone and text messaging by extension is doing to the brain and the ability to plan is fascinating. The need for instant gratification and impatience also rings very true to me. I do wonder how much of this might be somewhat exaggerated. I am very interested in Neuro-psych, so this is article was right up my alley - thank you very much.
Heather - It is interesting in my family’s case. We were all raised by the same parents, but with very different outcomes. I was the stereotypical first born - pushed extra hard to do well in school, extracurricular activities, and community service (yes - it is great to help those less fortunate, but make no mistake - my mother was going to make sure that I was the perfect well-rounded student and would get into a great college). I am really the only one that is out of the house - and I have been since I turned 17 and went to college. I never looked back - and absolutely moving back home would be a failure in my eyes. Don’t get me wrong, I am extremely close to my family - but the thought of having my parents dictate my life is horrible. I am not really sure why my mom feels like she has to insulate my siblings from the real world in way that she never did with me.
Will the result be parents demanding to speak to recruiters, hiring managers or bosses when their kids don’t get the job or the raise?
Shannon- maybe she realized how much she missed you after you were out of the house and doesn’t want to go through that with the younger ones. I don’t have kids but I imagine “cutting the apron strings” can be an emotional thing for the parents. I have a close friend who has 3 boys and is now sending the second one off to college and I sense her desire to want to hold on to them while pushing them out on their own (she’s an exceptional mom though). I guess the parents have to force themselves to do it to have healthy kids…easy for me to say. Some day your little one will look back on this blog post and thank you.
I will say that I am noticing lately, more spouses reaching out to recruiters on behalf of their partner. I suspect it’s a time management thing but I wonder what recruiters think when they get an e-mail from a woman helping find a position for her husband. The only times I’ve experienced a parent reaching out on behalf of their child was once with a relative (can you help find your cousin a job?) and being referred via parents that are friends. But really that’s been more about initial introductions than the interview process.
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