There Is A Worldwide Trend Of Adult Children Living With Their Folks

If you’re awaiting the day your kids finally move out of your house, be prepared for it to be much further in the future than you first thought.

The numbers suggest that there’s a global trend towards children remaining in the family home well into adulthood, lingering as they struggle to establish themselves in the world.

In fact, the average across the 35 wealthy member nations of the Organisation of Economic Cooperation and Development put the number at almost 60% of those aged 15-29 still residing at home. In countries like Italy, Greece and Slovenia more than three-quarters of youngsters in that age group haven’t yet left the nest. In Australia, it’s around 54%.

That indicates a definite change in our young people’s journey towards independent adulthood in pretty much all the most advanced economies in the last two decades. Likely related to this is the fact that the average age a woman has her first child has risen by nearly three years between 1995 and 2014, now standing at 28.7. Also higher is the average age at first marriage, which has risen from the mid-20s to the low to mid-30s since 1990.

While researchers admit that local cultural norms do play a part, they believe the factor that is driving this trend is economics. The largest spike in young people living with their parents happened following the 2008 local financial crisis. Additional to this is the large rate of youth unemployment in the countries with the highest proportion of under 30s living at home with mum and dad.

In Australia…

The rate of people under 30 living at home with their parents is slightly lower than the OECD average in Australia, but it has still risen significantly in the past couple of decades, even though our economic performance has remained strong. So, while in the 1970s, around one in five Aussies under 30 lived with their parents, it’s now one in two. The rate at which this has increased has been most rapid since the early 2000s.

The experts say there are a few things driving this change for Australians. One of these is education, as young Australian adults spend more time studying for qualifications after finishing high school than ever before. Many choose to stay at home while they do this, understanding that they are investing in their future, usually with their parent’s support.

However, for some young Australians, living at home is also a lifestyle choice. Paying discounted, or no rent frees up money in the budget for travel and future investment. In many cases, parental homes are much better located in terms of personal preferences than places they could afford on their own. This is particularly true for men, with figures showing a much higher proportion of sons who are staying at home compared to daughters.

All up it might seem like living at home as an adult isn’t such a bad idea, but according to Professor Ariadne Vromen, an expert in politics and youth at Sydney University, the trend is suggestive of something a bit more worrying.

“I think that a majority of people under 30 still living at home is a problem,” she said. “It tells us something about the difficulties that young people face in gaining financial independence by moving out of home.”

The trend also raises questions about how effectively our society is functioning if this is the only way to laugh oneself into adulthood.

Of course the high cost of living is a clear contributor to the higher proportion of adult children failing to leave the nest. Another factor is the lack of stable full-time employment for younger workers. Certainly, it seems like, if we’re to stay on par with the rest of the world, the numbers of young people living with their parents might continue to rise. But is it healthy, and what can we do about it?