Leaving
home
?
Possibly
not
!
We
all
love
our
children
,
but
it's
rather
nice
when
they
have
their
own
home
,
isn't
it
?
Picture
the
scene
,
the
opening
sequence
of
your
favorite
television
program
has
just
started
,
you
have
sole
possession
of
the
most
comfortable
sofa
,
and
a
glass
of
red
wine
is
in
your
hand
.
Everything
in
your
world
is
just
.
Suddenly
,
the
doorbell
chimes
.
You
wait
a
minute
,
hoping
whoever
it
is
will
depart
and
leave
you
in
peace
.
Unfortunately
,
they
don't
,
the
bell
rings
again
,
a
rather
longer
,
more
insistent
kind
of
tone
this
time
.
You
sigh
,
get
up
from
the
sofa
,
take
one
last
look
at
the
picture
on
the
television
screen
and
head
reluctantly
for
the
front
door
.
Imagine
your
surprise
when
you
open
the
door
to
find
your
son
,
who
you
thought
was
200
miles
away
,
standing
on
the
doorstep
.
"
Hello
,
"
he
says
,
"
do
you
mind
putting
me
up
for
a
few
days
,
not
longer
than
a
week
of
course
.
I'm
having
a
few
problems
.
"
Then
you
see
the
bags
?
not
a
small
overnight
bag
,
but
two
large
suitcases
!
It's
a
scenario
that
is
being
repeated
in
many
homes
throughout
Europe
for
a
variety
of
reasons
.
In
fact
,
even
in
Britain
,
where
the
trend
was
for
young
people
to
leave
the
nest
much
earlier
than
in
the
rest
of
Europe
,
more
than
a
quarter
of
young
people
live
at
home
with
their
parents
?
more
than
at
any
time
since
records
began
in
1966
.
What
is
more
,
the
issue
is
not
merely
confined
to
the
so
-
called
'boomerangers'
.
Around
a
quarter
of
a
million
individuals
aged
between
35
and
44
still
live
at
home
with
their
parents
.
So
what
is
it
causing
this
sociological
shift
?
According
to
researchers
,
the
main
reasons
include
an
insecure
work
,
high
housing
cost
,
midlife
divorces
,
and
straightforward
.
All
these
contribute
in
driving
what
were
perfectly
functioning
grown
-
ups
back
to
the
bosom
of
their
family
.
At
this
point
,
some
of
you
older
parents
,
whose
teenage
children
have
just
abandoned
you
without
so
much
but
a
backward
glance
,
might
be
thinking
,
"
Hmmm
,
don't
see
a
problem
here
,
mine
have
gone
for
only
five
minutes
and
I've
already
lost
my
purpose
in
life
.
"
However
,
recent
research
from
the
London
School
of
Economics
suggests
that
the
trauma
associated
with
children
leaving
the
nest
is
far
exceeded
by
the
psychological
disturbance
of
their
rebound
.
Good
parenting
is
ultimately
about
making
yourself
redundant
,
about
enabling
that
squawking
baby
to
into
a
well
adjusted
grown
-
up
that
has
the
wherewithal
to
succeed
in
the
outside
world
.
At
some
level
,
those
young
adults
that
fail
to
launch
successfully
will
feel
that
they
have
failed
,
even
when
it
may
be
circumstances
that
are
the
cause
.
This
anxiety
is
likely
to
be
contagious
and
the
relationships
as
a
consequence
.
On
top
of
this
,
many
parents
feel
guilty
at
the
resentment
they
feel
when
their
new
found
independence
from
responsibility
disappears
and
instead
they
have
to
share
their
home
again
.
Of
course
,
there
are
compensations
for
the
disruption
which
run
in
both
directions
hopefully
.
Nevertheless
,
it
young
adults
to
dwell
on
their
parents
predicament
for
a
moment
and
understand
that
while
there
is
always
a
place
for
them
in
the
family
home
,
that
something
needs
to
be
given
in
return
.
This
can
range
from
something
as
easy
as
respecting
the
lifestyle
of
the
parents
to
volunteering
to
take
some
part
of
the
domestic
duties
.
New game