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We all know it's tough to move out of the parental home these days. The economy is volatile. Jobs aren't secure. Purchasing a home is nearly impossible without taking out a huge loan.
But if you're 41 and still counting on Mom and Dad to wash your socks and make you dinner? Well, sorry kiddo. You've overstayed your welcome.
An Italian couple has elicited the help of lawyers to coax their 41-year-old son to move out, according to the BBC. The couple, who live in Venice and have not been named, said their son has a good job yet refuses to leave the nest. He reportedly even demands that his clothes be washed and his meals be prepared.
"We cannot do it any more," the father told Italian media, BBC says. "My wife is suffering from stress and had to be hospitalized. … He really has no intention of leaving."
Acting on behalf of the parents, lawyers from the consumer group Adico have issued a letter advising the son to leave home in six days or face legal action, BBC reports. According to Adico, theirs isn't an isolated case. Hundreds of Italians struggle with persuading their adult children to strike out on their own.
As children leave home at increasingly older ages, it's a problem we may see more of in North America as well. The 2006 Canadian census revealed that 60 per cent of young adults aged 20 to 24 were living in their parental home, compared with less than 50 per cent in 1986. More than a quarter of adults aged 25 to 29 were living with their parents, compared with less than 16 per cent two decades earlier.
While many parents welcome the idea of having their adult children stay with them, how and when should grown kids be shown the door?
Wency Leung