Helping kids with the rent

I have a friend who once said, “Remember: The first 40 years of parenting is the hardest part.” I thought of her when I read an item in The New York Times about how many young adults these days are still getting help from their parents to pay the rent.

Says the article, “Almost half of people in their early 20s have a secret, one they don’t usually share even with friends: Their parents help them pay the rent. Moving into adulthood has never been easy, but America’s rapidly changing labor market is making it harder to find economic security at a young age. Skilled work is increasingly concentrated in high-rent metropolitan areas, so more young people are tapping into their parents’ bank accounts.

“According to surveys that track young people through their first decade of adulthood, about 40 percent of 22-, 23- and 24-year-olds receive some financial assistance from their parents for living expenses. Among those who get help, the average amount is about $3,000 a year.”

A reminder of how things have changed, and how they haven’t. Sound familiar? Email me at rrollins@coxohio.com.

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