Readers share their thoughts about young adults still living with their parents | Canada Voices

My 24-year-old son and 21-year-old daughter both live with me and my wife. Both work after finishing school. I love having them still with me. That might change one day but today I’m so grateful I get to see them everyday.

We know quite a few parents whose kids are in their mid 20’s and are still living at home, and we have one ourselves. Pays rent (basically to cover food/utilities, we’re not trying to make money off of this). And yeah, we are on top of him on saving and investing, so that when either he decides to leave or we boot him out he can buy a place or rent with no issues etc. He’s a hard worker, works overtime on his own initiative, so not an issue there. Just needs to find a career job after uni and will likely go back to school to accomplish this. Will likely stay with us another year or two while at school (and will still pay rent).

Rent in the major cities is far more expensive than it was 30 years ago (I did the math, adjusted for inflation, etc, and yeah, it is a lot more expensive). Obviously the cost of buying a place is much higher as well.

I think it makes a lot of sense for young people to live at home. It preserves family capital or avoids debt.

They should be productive, however, and use this benefit of free accommodation wisely, either by going to school or working and saving for their future. It is up to parents to set this boundary.

I have a hard-working university student at home. Living with us will ensure he graduates with a professional degree without either him going into debt, or burdening us with the additional cost of paying for his accommodation elsewhere.

I just hope that AI won’t make it too hard to find a real job when he finishes his education. I can see that a lot of young people are going to have to continue living with their parents a lot longer due to AI gobbling up jobs.

In many cultures this is common for practical reasons that have to do with taking care of each other, grandparents look after grandkids and when they get old and need help there kids help look after them. Many parents are left in large three or four bedroom homes when the kids move out so it makes sense to renovate and make the house work for two families if the need arises.

I would like to see an article about four 20-somethings sharing a house or a very large apartment with many of them working either long hours or balancing two jobs and demonstrating how they live modest and thrifty lifestyles. They exist, and it’s those type of hard-working people that we should be honouring.

I am from a totally different generation (now in my 80’s) and the opposite mindset from the young people of today. My upbringing was to make me totally independent and by 18 on my own, making it in the real world, as it was at that time. It was never easy and at some times downright hard, but I learnt a lot. At that time, there was no safety net for failure.

No parent wants to see their children living in poverty, or homeless or living on welfare but we need to let young people experience struggle and in some cases failure as part of life’s learning experience and a hand up, not hand out. I feel for today’s young people many have great education but which is not relevant to earning a good living, and housing is tough if you don’t want to start basic. Canada the land of opportunity a long time ago has changed, you have to adapt with it.

Obviously a totally different world than the one that I grew up in. When I graduated from high school, I couldn’t wait to get out on my own. I went to university in a city that was away from my parent’s home. On purpose actually.

I remember my mother telling me from the time I was in about grade six – when you graduate from high school, you can do anything you like. You just can’t do it here.

Moving out on my own was one of the best decisions I ever made. A great learning experience for me.

As a 26-year-old, I can’t help but read this and think to myself that my peers need to get out in the real world and cut their teeth a bit. Maybe a bit harsh, but many parents are probably doing their kids a disservice in shielding their kids from reality.

The elephant in the room is affordability has completely changed the bar that someone needs to clear to live the most basic life outside of home with rents far outpacing inflation or incomes historically.

In the 80s or 90s you could get a useless degree and afford to live in a basic apartment on your cashier or landscaping job while saving money or blowing it on beer and popcorn. Today, its largely impossible in most of Canada. I feel for these kids grappling with their own lack of independence.

I would go nuts if I had to live with my mom and dad beyond 18, and I love them very much!

Poverty, it is called poverty. Mortgage agents stated that not only an average salary is not enough to save for a down-payment in GTA – it is not enough to get approved for a mortgage.

A man with a manufacturing job could afford to buy a house and have a stay at home wife to take care of the kids in the 80’s. Now, it takes the incomes of two professionals to scare by.