Most parents are happy to have their adult kids move back home — but are worried about their futures: survey
Eighty-five percent of parents whose kids previously moved out are delighted their birds came back to the nest, according to new research.
A survey of 2,000 parents of kids in their 20s who live at home aimed to figure out what this experience of having ๊their♐ 20-something children at home has been like and uncovered some interesting trꦑends.
Four in 10 had children who initially moved out (42%) — while 58% said their children h🌃ave always lived at home.
For those who spread their wings and left their pa🐬rent’s house, the top🌜 reasons were to experience living on their own (41%), go to college (29%) or to live with a partner (26%).
Of these respondents, a majority recall their child asking to move back in (69%) because they couldn’t afford to live on their own (42%) or w🅺anted to sav✃e money (33%).
Conducted by Talker Research forBOK Financial, the survey found that even n✱ow, half of all parents surveyed said their child still lives with them because of the current economic🌞 climate (52%).
Convenience also plays a factoꦇr in why adult kids are living𓂃 at home (32%), along with wanting to be close to their family (25%).
While 45% surveyed said that their child moving back in has improved the🔜ir relationship, taking care of their kids i🐈s taking a toll on parents.
A quarter of those surveyed admi🎉t they weren’t financially prepared to ha🍎ve their child live with them in their adult years (27%).
Similarly, 29% shared that their child rarely or never contributes to the household financ𒈔ially, which may be adding to the major financial strain 34% have felt over the past year.
Moreover, one in five said having their adult chi♓ld live at home has had a negative impact on their own financial planning or retirement plans (19%).
On average, parents ꦜestimate that their kids will remain under their roof for another 16 months, while a third of respondents aren’t sure about their children’s tenure (32%).
“If you have adult kids living at home—which isn’t uncommon nowadays! — it’s an opportunity to model good financial practices while encouraging them to save diligently,” said Leasa Melton, manager of product strategy for BOK Financial.
“But⛦, like everything else in parenting, it’s a balance be🐷tween letting them learn and helping guide them.
“They’re often living at home to save up for their next step of independence and having them in your house gives you a chance to cheer them on in a safe environment.”
Beyond their own ꩲfinaౠncial woes, 46% of parents surveyed expressed worry about their child’s ability to be financially independent.
Where’s this worry coming from? Thirty percent acknowledge that their child is in a worse financial situation than they were at their age, leading a majority of parents to have doubts about💧 their kids being financially prepared to leave home at this time (56%).
For their children to gain financial independence, parents are calling for better job opportunities (50%) an♐d resources for fina🔜ncial education or planning (28%).
Nine in 1�🎃�0 tried to get ahead of this, saying that it was important for them to teach their childrenfinancial lessons before they finished high school.
Whether this information took root is a different debate: j🔥ust 20% grade their child’s understanding of financial matters as A 𝓀or higher, compared to 27% who grade themselves the same.
There’s always time to learn, though: p🐼arents have taught their children all sorts of lessons in adulthood, primarily finance-related (66%), domestic-related (59%) and lifeꦐstyle-related (52%).
A𓃲 third of parents also recall being late bloomers, sharing that all of the financial advice they taught their child was learned in adulthood (32%).
While their adult children have been livingಌ with them, parents have emphasized teaching them how to save money (77%) and budget (ജ71%) above all.
Parents also stress the import🎃ance of paying down debt (53%) and investing (46%).
“Children might not always pick up on financial lessons when they are young,” said Melton. “But as they gain independence, living at home provides another opportunity to help them establish good financial habits, a win for both parents and their adult children.”
