Today’s young adults are vastly different than young adults of the past.
The concept of what is and is not expected for many emerging adults today differs vastly from previous generations. For those part of older generations, it was expected that most people would get jobs, get married and start their own families, all without the aid of their parents. However, the same rules do not apply to today’s next generation.
For many, the sheer cost of living expenses today has made it difficult to completely venture out on their own. As CNBC reported, housing expenses continue to skyrocket while young adults are carrying heavier student loans with lower wages when inflation rates are factored in. Overall, 47% of adults are receiving some type of financial help from their parents.
However, a glaring statistic sticks out in this report.
“Yet, 61% of adult children still living at home don’t contribute to household expenses at all, Savings.com found.”
So, the question is, how are they contributing? Are they part of the workforce but are choosing not to help with the household? Or, are they simply avoiding the workforce altogether?
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As CNBC points out, the average monthly parents are investing into their adult children is $1,384. This continues to be the case as “58% of parents said they have sacrificed their own financial security for the sake of their adult children…”
While all parents desire to show their children love and support, there has to be a line drawn. Helping out during a difficult time or during a time of rising living expenses is understandable for many. However, by fully or drastically supporting adult children, it enables them to continue to live as dependents.
Proverbs 22:6 tells us: “Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it.” The way children are raised, the values that are instilled in them at a young age, are the same values they will carry with them the rest of their lives. Training up children to walk on their own two feet while graciously guiding them along is vital for who they will become in the long run.
Whether work ethic, the economy, culture or some combination of all of these factors are at play in this scenario, it’s important parents think critically about what types of future adults they are raising. Will they be societal reformers, on fire to share the gospel and provide the best they have with the world? Or will they end up entitled, having made no positive impact on the world around them? 
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Abby Trivett is a marketing copywriter and coordinator for Charisma Media.
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