The Challenges of Graduates Moving Home with Mom and Dad

The recession is hitting college graduates hard. Around 14 percent of recent grads aged 20-24 are currently unemployed. This makes being able to financially support themselves very difficult, if not impossible. So, how can an unemployed college graduate save a few hundred dollars every month? Move back in with mom and dad. However, many recent graduates are finding this option less and less appealing.
Brooke Chrzan, a graduate of The University of New Hampshire, says that living with her parents after being independent in college is “worse than when [she] was a teenager.” Brooke feels her parents treat her “like [she is] 14 again.”
Brooke’s mother, Gail Chrzan, is also having trouble adjusting to having her adult daughter living under her roof again. “All of us are just cringing,” she said. “The fundamental issues are — when you are in college — you establish hideous schedules, partying all night, going to class and sleeping. It’s total clash of the titans.”
Robert Manekin is another parent who is not exactly thrilled to have his college graduate children living at home again. However, he does understand that in today’s economic crisis, it is necessary.
“As long as kids are doing everything to support themselves, we are going to do everything we can to support them,” Manekin said. “I don’t think any child or parent is enthusiastic about this arrangement, but what other alternatives are there?”
College graduates moving home with their parents will need to still respect their parents’ house rules. Parents will need to accept that their children are not really children any more, and also deserve some respect. This arrangement can prove very difficult, but for many families across the nation, it is proving to be more and more necessary.
Via The Denver Business Journal