As the economy continues its roller coaster instability, more college-aged children are finding safety in staying at home. This caused Beyond Finance client financial therapist and Psychology Today columnist Nathan Astle, CFT-I, LMFT, to consider if economic support for adult children is a good idea.
The Pew Research Center polled many Americans during the Coronavirus outbreak to determine how the pandemic affected families.
They discovered that more young adults (ages 18 to 29) have been living with their parents since the Great Depression in the late 1920s.
Back then, 48% of similarly aged people stayed home to escape the discomfort of adulting. In July 2020, the number was an alarming 52%. In 2022, the number almost exceeded 60%. Four years later, the number has reduced to 45%, but that still underscores how the economy is forcing parents to consider economic support for adult children.
Astle uses the professional term for that family dynamic: “financial scaffolding.”
Think about it: Scaffolding allows people to be elevated and strategically positioned and provides much-needed maintenance on things in hard-to-reach places. When they graduate high school, our children may depend on scaffolding in their financial lives. They need a temporary agreement to get a diploma or a trade as they prepare for a career.
As part of his “Psychology of Debt” series, Astle opens parents’ minds nationwide with this insightful post. If you have struggled with the idea of “financial scaffolding” or are faced with supporting your adult children, this article is for you. Bookmark it today and read it whenever you have questions.