cover image Boomerang Kids: How to Live with Adult Children Who Return Home

Boomerang Kids: How to Live with Adult Children Who Return Home

Jean Davies Okimoto. Little Brown and Company, $15.45 (181pp) ISBN 978-0-316-63810-4

When previously independent adult children return home to live with their parents, as an estimated 22 million do currently, there are inevitable problems of co-existence. Techniques and strategies to avoid predictable pitfalls in the former parent-child roles are presented in this guide by two psychotherapists who specialize in family relationships. They write of the experiences of such adults across the United States for whom ""the phenomenon of delayed independence represents a true change in American family life.'' In the case histories presented there is a wide range of reasons why adult chidren return home: divorce, drugs, and emotional and financial problems are among them. The authors suggest practical ways of sharing territory and enjoying the benefits of a new mutuality, but the emphasis is on ways to help young adults achieve success in making it on their own. (October)