Parents in debt because of boomerang generation?

Many parents may be seeing their debt issues exacerbated because of the boomerang generation – young adults trying to attain financial independence.

According to Catherine Hanly, parenting expert and former editor of raisingkids.co.uk, this is unsurprising given the amount of debt students leave university with and the cost of buying a house.

“I’m not at all surprised it’s taking longer for kids to become financially independent,” she said.

Commenting on recent statistics from the Children’s Mutual revealing that the cost of supporting kids aged between 18 and 30 is expected to exceed £30,000, Ms Hanley noted that the majority of this figure is likely to come from parents helping their offspring get on the property ladder.

“In that respect, although it sounds like a lot of money, it isn’t really that surprising,” she remarked, adding that she came across other results indicating that nearly every first-time buyer will be looking to their mothers and fathers for help to put deposits together.

By Sarah Adie