Tag Archives: boomerang kids
What Do the Experts Say About Boomerang Kids? It’s NOT what you think
Full-grown, twenty-something college graduates are returning home to have their parents continue supporting them due to “immaturity” or because “they just prefer the comforts of home?” And the expert’s take is that there is nothing wrong with that picture?Jaw, meet floor. Maybe there was some mistake. Maybe the expert, wasn’t clear on her meaning. We should give her the benefit of the doubt and look at the answers she and her fellow expert gave to some other pertinent questions. After all, they are on the staff at… CONTINUE READING >>
The Yin and Yang of Parasite “Kids”
Mine! Mine! Mine!
David explores two UNBELIEVABLE stories of greed and selfishness!
Is there a special place in hell for offspring who steal from their elderly parents? Should offspring be required to take care of elderly parents no matter the circumstances? What steps can be taken to ensure that our families don’t end up like this?… CONTINUE READING >>
Life After Kids
When Veronica and I began to think about our life after raising kids one of the first things we did was Google “empty nesters.”
We wanted to see if anyone else was looking at this the same way that we were. With a feeling of “isn’t it great that the kids have moved out, and we’ll have life to ourselves again?” To be untethered and free. To wander the globe. To be GypsyNesters instead of empty-nesters.
But no, just about everything we could find was lamenting how terrible it is that the kids aren’t around anymore. Even worse, the biggest item on the first page we clicked into was an enormous ad for an… CONTINUE READING >>
Mom, Stop Coddling Me and Let Me Grow!
We have discussions about the parent / adult “kid” relationship quite frequently here at GypsyNester.com, but it’s quite rare that we get to hear the young adult point of view on our site, other than a few cherished comments in our discussion section.We don’t kid ourselves, we are aware that there aren’t a lot a twenty-something people who get up in the morning and think, hey, let’s see what the geezer set is up to this days.
So we felt pretty good when we came across “The Drawbacks of Being A Boomerang Kid” at YPULSE. In this story a recent college graduate affirms our position on adult offspring returning to the nest.
“Could it be that some … CONTINUE READING >>
No, We Won’t Buy You a…
Our main goal as parents was to end up with happy, healthy, self-sufficient adults.We can’t tell anyone how to do this — everyone’s different and Lord knows we made our share of mistakes along the way — but we can offer an insight that we’ve gained through our own offspring’s transitions from childhood to adulthood.
Don’t give kids everything they want, just everything they need.
A whole lot of what they want is stupid crap and… CONTINUE READING >>
You Brought Your MOM to Your Job Interview?
Okay, it’s rave time. Just a warning.I sympathize with helicopter parents, I really do. I was one. I reluctantly stopped hovering once my kids left the nest. I knew that the sovereignty of the Spawns was more important than my own desire to continue colonial rule. Trust me, we’ve ALL benefited from my abdication.
Did I hound my offspring to do their homework when they were kids? You Betcha. Did I have meetings with their high school guidance counselors to voice concerns without the Spawn present? Guilty… CONTINUE READING >>
Adult “Kids” Say the Darndest Things (on Twitter)
A treasury of tweets that every parent of an adult kid will love! These guys are SO funny!
On Being Replaced
Bounce That Boomerang
The subject of Boomerang “Kids” has been in the news a lot lately, and the story we’re being sold is that poor, brave youngsters with new diplomas in hand have no choice but to move back into their old bedrooms at Mom and Dad’s house.
All sorts of numbers have been bandied about, some say a quarter of recent grads are unemployed or underemployed, others say half, and one completely unscientific study proclaiming the preposterous idea that 85 percent… CONTINUE READING >>
Are You a Snow Plow Parent? 7 Modern Parenting Terms
This glossary of modern parenting terms from around the world provides a cautionary tale through definitions. Could a Snow Plow Parent accidently raise a Kidult in a perpetual state of Adultescence?Snow Plow Parents
Like the snow removal apparatus, a Snow Plow Parent will be sure to… CONTINUE READING >>
Parasite "Kids"
What’s worse than a Boomerang “Kid?” A Parasite “Kid.”
While the Boomeranger comes home to rely on its host for room, board and Mama’s cooking, the Parasite will eventually kill its host — latching on and sucking dry retirement savings while out living on its own. Long distance leeching, in a manner of speaking.
In generations past only rich kids that acted this way. We are now seeing a new breed –the middle class Parasite Kid. These… CONTINUE READING >>
Glamour + Camping = Glamping on the California Coast
Your GypsyNesters take a Glamping adventure of a lifetime up California’s Pacific Coast Highway!Follow us from Santa Monica to Santa Barbara to Beverly Hills – yes – Beverly Hills, as we discover what the Glamping Life is all about!… CONTINUE READING >>
Get a Job!
Once again an article online got me thinking. While I don’t necessarily disagree with The Wall Street Journal‘s premise, the headline, Why Kids Today Have it Worse Than Their Parents (Ben Casselman), sure sounds whiney.But the meat of the article has some good infonuggets:
“Today’s 20-somethings are, broadly speaking, the children of the last of the Baby Boomers, those born in the late 1950s and early 1960s. That generation, like this one, came of age in the midst of a brutal recession: The unemployment rate for 18-24 year-olds topped 17% at the end of 1982. (In 2010, it briefly crossed 18%.)”
As a twenty-something back then, yeah, I remember that time well. Things were tight, but we got through it OK.
Now, having recently sent three newly-minted adults out into the world, I have firsthand experience of how both recessions have effected young adults. Lucky me.
It’s no secret that we believe… CONTINUE READING >>
Empty Nest Egg
It seems to me that a good number of folks who have boomerang “kids” may actually want them to return. But are we really doing our offspring any favors by allowing an indefinite extension of childhood?Let’s think about this. Where did you live when you were first starting out? I’ll bet it wasn’t quite the Taj Mahal.
Our first place was a one bedroom former screened-in porch that had all the weather proofing of the average wiffle ball. It was a veritable private zoo of insect vermin — and we were glad to have it… CONTINUE READING >>
The Old College Pry
How do we know when we’ve become too involved in our offspring’s college education?
Is it okay to call a professor about a dispute over a test score? Should we proofread their papers? Should we have access to their grades if we are paying tuition? Should we storm into the Dean’s office?
I interviewed some college professors and their stories will amaze you… CONTINUE READING >>
THE Talk
“I’m eighteen now, I can do what I want.”The dreaded time when the spawn are technically adults but still in high school. At that age, it would seem that “adult” means the freedom to head out and start being stupid at top speed.
The standard “Not in my house” or “As long as you live under my roof, you’ll abide by my rules” replies didn’t seem to sink in with our young ‘uns. In fact, I could almost see the heels digging in to the floor.
One day while driving our oldest, The Piglet, to school, I got fed up and burst out with what became known in our family as “THE Talk.” No, not THAT “the talk”, this one:… CONTINUE READING >>
"Delayed-Launch Period?" Really?
Uh. I can’t let this one go by. The Wall Street Journal has published an article entitled “Benefits of a Late Launch,” discussing a new book, “Not Quite Adults.”
I haven’t read the book and it’s going to take some time before I gather the fortitude to do so, as the subtitle is enough to make me cringe: “WHY 20-SOMETHINGS ARE CHOOSING A SLOWER PATH TO ADULTHOOD, AND WHY IT’S GOOD FOR EVERYONE.” I want to be clear that I am responding to the Journal article, not the book.
To be fair, before I go off on my own rant, I will cite the benefits as the Journal lays them out… CONTINUE READING >>
Boomerang "Kids"
A recent advice column I read was just plain disturbing.
It involved a mother who is a newly retired homeowner with an outstanding mortgage. Unless she was the CEO of a major publicly traded corporation, this lady is on a whopper of a fixed income.
Now get this – she has two sons, aged 22 and 24, living in her home and she has asked them to pitch in and pay $30 a week.
“Stressed-Out Mom” says that they are now “ranting and raving and calling her a bad… CONTINUE READING >>
Stick a Fork in Us, We’re Done!
Our youngest, The Boy, graduated from college on Saturday. He’s somehow managed to graduate with honors, all while holding down two jobs. We can’t imagine having that much energy. As parents, we couldn’t be prouder.In addition to the pride we feel for our son’s accomplishments, we have found other reasons to celebrate. This is the last year we’ll ever make a tuition payment, have an offspring on our medical insurance, or… CONTINUE READING >>
Top Ten Ways You Know Your Kid is Grown Up
10. You have Thanksgiving dinner at her home. You sneak the inedible parts to her dog.
9. He drops the F-bomb right in front of you. With no fear of an Ivory Soap sandwich.
8. You realize that you are sitting in the back seat. Of her car.
7. He cleans up after himself. While visiting your house!
6. She absentmindedly… CONTINUE READING >>
Who’s Kidding Who?
The last task of raising a child is letting them go. Allowing them to flap their cute little wings and fly… giving them a gentle nudge out of the nest to get them airborne. Ah yes, little birdies, spread your wings and fly. OK, sometimes it’s more like a hard shove off a cliff… but the harder transition from the parent-child relationship to an adult-to-adult one must be made.This process doesn’t happen overnight. The ritual sounds easy in theory, but it can be a bit sticky in practice. It’s difficult not to be mommy or daddy and even harder for the chicks not to revert… CONTINUE READING >>
Why Do People Like Us Even Have Kids?
@DianaHayes “Tell me why when a person says they enjoy the empty nest another person counters with – Oh, but I am close to my kids. ARGH”Receiving this sort of frustrated Tweet is not uncommon for us, this one came while sitting with our morning coffee in a hotel cafe. I had just returned from using the lobby bathroom where I overheard a cell phone conversation in the stall next to me.
Yes, I admit I was eavesdropping – but I have two lame excuses.
1) We had just… CONTINUE READING >>
Boomerang Brats
The author of “The Benefits Of Being A Boomerang Kid” lists three reasons that full grown adults should continue to force their parents to support them and, consequently, avoid contributing to the economy and society at large.
On the top of his list, spending Mom and Pop’s money instead of his own.
“Saving Up- With no rent or utilities, you can build up your nest egg as long as you’re disciplined.”
Gee that’s right Kid, no worries. Has it occurred to you that while you’re “building up your nest egg” that you’re depleting your parents’… CONTINUE READING >>
Boomerang “Kid” Econ 101
Economic recovery gets a boost from emptying the nest!“About 20 million adult children in the U.S. live with their parents, and most are eager to move, says Peter Francese, a demographic analyst for advertising agency Ogilvy & Mather.”
“‘Most guys who live at home beyond some young age walk around with a great big ‘L’ [for "loser"] on their forehead,’ Francese says.”
Could kicking out boomerang “kids” pull us out of this recession?
“When people move into a new home, they tend to spend. A typical new… CONTINUE READING >>
GypsyNesters on the Radio!
Get the GypsyNester story!We joined Jill and Claudia over at Empty Nester Radio and had a BLAST.
Listen in as we answer these great questions:
How did you become known as the GypsyNesters?
What did your kids say when you told them of your plans?
Do you have… CONTINUE READING >>
What in the World of Warcraft is This Guy Thinking?
One of our readers sent me an email that really touched me:
“I am not completely an empty nester unfortunately. My 20 year old son was not able to return to college this fall because of the lack of loans and grants available to him. So now he is doing nothing except for playing the computer game WoW (World of Warcraft) most of his waking hours. He did just purchase a small business that will make him a small living, but I pray he goes back to college. He is very bright and it would be such a waste if he didn’t.
Hannah”
Hannah, my heart… CONTINUE READING >>
Top 10 Ways to Scare Your Boomerang Kid Out of the House
10. Greet him at the door naked with a bottle of Viagra and a can of whipped cream and shout “Honey, I guess we can’t use the kitchen, our baby’s home.”9. Set his computer so all his porn and poker sites go to GoArmy.com.
8. Invite your friends over to have a party in his room, trash it and smoke all… CONTINUE READING >>
