Enough with the media news about the ‘generation gap’ and ‘failure to launch’. Enough with the critical concern about the trend in post-college 20somethings returning home or continuing to rely, either emotionally or financially, on parents. While the parents’ role is to raise independent adults and while current American culture identifies the early 20s as optimal years to assert full independence, clearly there is value, both for parents and their young adult children, to consider a broader, less rigid way to define the trajectory to self-sufficiency. But, hold onto your hats: we could even celebrate all the good that can be found for all parties, in navigating the continuous multi-generational dynamic that has become synonymous with ‘failure to launch, and charged with negative connotations.
Karen Fingerman and Frank Furstenberg in a New York Times Opinion Page Op-Ed seem to agree – http://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/31/opinion/the-parent-trap.html?_r=2