"Boomerang kids" driving parents to distraction

By Paul Majendie

LONDON (Reuters Life!) - "Boomerang kids" who treat the family home like a free hotel are driving their parents to distraction, a leading British charity has warned.

Lifestyle clashes abound -- from piles of laundry and mounds of debt to drug and alcohol abuse -- with one parent complaining "our home became a war ground of constant arguments."

Parents seem to seesaw between frustration about their children still living at home and feeling that at least they are happy and safe.

Parentline Plus, has been bombarded with desperate calls from beleaguered parents to their helpline, and is developing a self-help guide for parents with the plaintive title ""Will They Ever Leave The Nest?"

Callers to the helpline are concerned about aggressive behavior -- both verbal and physical -- from their children and worried about their drug and drink consumption.

For "Boomerang kids" are a growing band.

Government figures show that 58 percent of men and 39 percent of women aged 20-24 live with their parents in England.

Weighed down with student debt, battling to get onto the housing ladder, marrying much later than their parents' generation, they find the family home is an easy and attractive option.