Read an article describing the current lifestyles of many young Americans. According to a Pew Research Center analysis, 36% of adults between 18 to 31 were still living with their folks in 2012. It used to be 32% just 5 years ago. I’ve heard people are getting married later in life. Maybe leaving the nest later is part of the reason 😕 But here’s what caught my attention, millennial males (40%,) were “significantly more” likely to live with mom and dad than millennial females (32%.)
Adult sons are expected to do less housework, and are given more freedom than daughters so it’s easier for a young man to live at home and still feel independent than for a young women, which is probably why “women tend to mature, emotionally, faster than men,” says the chair of the psychology department at Golden Gate University in San Francisco. Furthermore young women today tend to outperform men in post-secondary education. 71% of female high school grads last year were accepted into college, but only 61% of males managed to do the same, according to the US government’s Bureau of Labor Statistics. Females also tend to finish college faster than males and have a better chance to find a job afterwards with an out of school unemployment rate of 11% compared to the guys at 16%.
Ladies: Congrats 😀 You are doing really well for yourselves. Keep it up!
Guys: Dagnabbit ( >_<) Some of you losers are making the rest of us male millennials look like a bunch of spoiled, lazy, pampered, immature, freeloading, disgraceful, good-for-nothing, piles of rubbish 😡 No wonder why women around Vancouver complain about how the men here suck and lack motivation. Haha, I’m just teasing 😛 Don’t give up guys 🙂
The following are some random comments by other people on the internet.
- “With most of the good paying jobs outsourced overseas this is what you get”
- “Reading all this from Europe is quite amazing. What is wrong with children living with their parents? This is how it has been for millennia and is still the way in most European countries,…where the institute of a family is very strong…”
- “Really?! all those guys with the stupid face tats and piercings cant find jobs? who du thunk it?”
- “As a guy in my mid 50’s, I really have to question why would a 20 year old male really want to go out and build a life, knowing that if he is to choose to become a husband and a father, his life is now at the whim of her. And she will use the courts and government to destroy him. So, what is the POINT from the Perspective of the young male? I really wish I could tell them to grow up, but…. it looks like they have, and they are taking the responsible road…”
- “Mom and Dad are my ATM”
- “Death of the work ethic plays a part here too…. Our culture is suffering from a sense of entitlement- and laziness.”
That’s what I’ve seen mirrored in reality. My brother rarely had to do anything around the house growing up (compared to my sister and I), and so is it really surprising that he’s still living with my parents, rent free with groceries included, at age 32? Dude gets to sleep in, work minimal hours, and almost never does his own laundry or dishes. My parents let him come and go at all hours and don’t really put any restrictions on what he does in the house. It’s crazy.
This puts a lot more pressure on the responsible sister who’s working hard because once the parents retire and might need taking care of, so will the under achieving brother. I’ve noticed similar anecdotal stories about other family’s too.
What a crying shame. I agree with the last quote you wrote too. We have three girls and a boy, and let me tell you, all four of our kids, especially our son, are expected to work their arses off and pull their weight around here, even at 13, 10,8, and 7. And unless they’re in school, they WILL be paying rent. Why? Because we want the best for them. I see this all the time where parents cater to their kids, boys especially for some reason, and they’re certainly not doing their kids any favors. There’s nothing wrong, necessarily, with letting your kids live at home until they’re married or ready to move out (although I might put an age limit on this). There is something wrong with giving them no financial or work responsibilities when they’re at home. How do these parents expect their kids to be prepared for real life? Getting a real job, marriage, kids – it will traumatize the poor guys!
Kids these days seem to think they will all of a sudden grow up as soon as they move out, but before that happens there’s no incentive for them to help out more around the house because they know if they don’t wash the dishes, their parents will do them anyway 🙂 Living in a home with so many sisters I’m sure your son will learn to become a responsible adult one day.
mom and dad are my ATM oh boy. Mum is my ATM when I need to invest, then repay her with interest. Pay my phone bill? I left home even before I got a cellphone haha. I wouldn’t kick my kids out of the house at 17 but really, if they can’t get a job because they majored in philosophy and expect to freeload on parents, they can go get adopted elsewhere.
Yeah responsibility and accountability are what teens should be learning. Too many high school grads these days are not pragmatic with their decisions. Whoever pays money to learn about philosophy better be doing it out of personal interest or a hobby, because their chances of actually finding a job in that field after graduation is slim to none 🙄
I remember even when I was in my 20’s that if a guy was still living at home it was a huge turnoff. Now I don’t know what things are like for 20-somethings these days, but I would imagine if I was a girl that age and the guy was still living at home, it might be a red flag for me…like why? 🙂
How the times have changed. I think 30 is the new 20 in terms of when to leave the nest.
Success is not gender specific! Unfortunately, the economy has affected all of us differently. I wonder what the statistics will be when the economy recovers?
That’s an important consideration. Some families choose to stay together longer for immediate financial reasons. In certain situations, it may not be that the adult child doesn’t want to move out but it’s because his mom lost her job and he has to stay home to support her. I would also be interested to see another study when the unemployment rate in the US is back to normal 😎
Some people will come up with any excuse not to work. Some times you have to swallow your pride and not a job that you would never think about doing. Working at a crappy job is better than not having a job at all.
That’s true. There’s no such thing as a bad job. Our finance minister got some flack when he mentioned that sentiment last year, but I think it’s true. Jobs are all relative. They’re like pizza. You can’t go wrong with pizza. Some kinds of pizza are not as good as others but in the end, it’s better than starving 😆
Interesting post! I will definitely make sons and daughters do the same work. There’s nothing more attractive than a man who helps out around the house!
Reminds me of those cleaning services where you can choose a man or a woman to come to your house and clean it for you. It’s quite a smart business model because there is a minimum booking duration and the client has to supply the toilet scrub. I’m actually planning to write a post on it in the future 🙂
I remember when I was my bro’s age and had to work 2 jobs to pay for my school fees while he used RESPs then dropped out. Not that I’m bitter or anything. 😛 There was definitely a difference in how we were treated, but he’s started paying rent now that he’s working full time so he’s not too bad I suppose. 🙂 No wonder I know so many single girls!!
That’s nice you don’t hold a grudge against him for having an easier time than you did. I give him credit for at least trying to be more responsible now 🙂 Any chance I could meet these single girls you speak of? 😎 lol
Yes! Any time. We’ll start with names… 😛
You’re adorable with a great net worth; I can’t imagine how it could be hard for you to meet girls! Although, I suppose you can’t start with “guess what, I own lotsa land in Saskatchewan?” hey? 🙂
It’s worth noting that while females are now earning more bachelor degrees than men, they aren’t earning them in technical disciplines (i.e., engineering, math, science, etc.) The world doesn’t need more psychologists, youth workers, and “communication specialists”!
Good point. Technical skills will always be in demand 😀 It’s disappointing that parents are still allowing their kids to major in psychology and expecting them to have the same job opportunities as a petroleum engineer. Some people have to be more realistic in this tough economy.
I am reluctant to compare, but I gotta say, we’re doing way better for ourselves apparently 🙂
Hah, for sure 😀 Keep it up.
I should point out that women are better and biologically equipped for traditional education than men, just by the way our brains are structured. We can concentrate, focus and sit still, little boys on the whole, find it very hard to do so.
That said, our schooling system also doesn’t help little boys succeed by doing hands-on or interesting ways of looking at subject matter. It’s so dry and rote, that even I as a little kid, had to force myself to care.
That would explain why I regularly felt drowsy in highschool. The subjects we learned can be so boring sometimes (>.<) I wonder if kids from an all boys school would be better prepared for life than boys going to a regular co-ed school.
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