More than half of the parents in the United States are helping, or have helped, support their adult children who have been hit by high unemployment and poor wages(工资), according to a new survey. It showed that present economic conditions are discouraging young adults from leaving home and forcing those who have already gone, so-called boomerang kids, to return.
“Parents are continuing their financial involvement longer than we expected,” said Ted Beck, president of National Endowment for Financial Education (NEFE).
About 60 percent of parents questioned in the survey said they’re helping their adult children who are no longer in school financially. Half are providing housing and nearly half are helping with living expenses.
For an increasing number of adult children, the situation is bad. Two-thirds of adult children, aged 18 to 39, who are not in school said they faced tougher financial pressures than previous generations, according to the survey. And nearly one-third of parents agreed that it was easier for them to find their financial feet than for their children.
Parents are helping their children out of genuine concern because they do not want to see them struggle. But Beck said that parents who make sacrifices(牺牲) to help their adult children should be careful about their own finances.
“If you are taking on extra debt or delaying(推迟) retirement to help your adult child, you could be making a mistake and putting your own financial future in danger,” Beck warned.
Boomerang children can also cause other problems for their parents. Thirty percent of parents said they had given up privacy since their adult children moved back home, while more than a quarter have taken on added debt, and seven percent have delayed retirement. But the survey also showed 42 percent of adult children living at home are helping with the cooking and cleaning.
小题1:According to the text, boomerang kids refer to ____.
A．married adult children
B．grown-ups living with parents
C．adult children independent and successful in life
D．young adults depending on parents for financial support小题2:According to the survey, we can infer that _____.
A．about 30% of parents offer their adult children housing
B．one-third of adult children earn money more easily than their parents
C．two-thirds of adult children are faced with financial problems in school
D．about 50% of parents give money to their adult children to cover the daily cost小题3:What is Ted Beck’s suggestion to the parents?
A．Asking their children to help with the housework.
B．Being careful when helping their children financially.
C．Leaving their children to struggle to live.
D．Putting off their time of retirement.小题4:What would be the best title for the text?
A．Adult children are less independent
B．Parents help support adult children
C．Bad conditions affect children a lot
D．Adult children like living with parents