We all know life has changed a lot since we were young adults. A recent Canadian news story puts some numbers on those changes. Here’s the contrast on 22-year-old Canadians: In 1971, 3/4 had left school; 1/2 had married; 1/4 had children. Fast forward 30 years: only 1/2 had left school; a mere 1/5 were…

We are not alone. On the other side of "the pond," British parents of adult children are helping their kids out financially in roughly the same way we are and for similar reasons. The latest Scottish Widows savings and investment report tells us that 42 percent of adult children are using the parental largesse to…

OK. It’s official. Every recent survey I’ve seen says our generation is generous to our grown children: nine out of 10 of us give them a needed financial boost from time to time. (The latest version of that stat is in a survey by Ameriprise Financial; you can find it at ameriprise.com/presscenter ). The Bank…

She no longer has a land line. Alpha daughter, who is not particularly a techie, is all cell phone, all the time. I feel unmoored.She doesn’t have a TV. Not that she doesn’t watch television programs. Her little family gets all its feeds from the computer. Movies too. Books on tape , music, photos–you name…

They’re close friends so they feel free to ask: Are you still paying your daughter’s airfare? Like me, one of their grown children was living on the other coast. Their son moved there for graduate school, married a fellow student. Money was tight; kids were being born. My friends could afford the air fare, and…

Unwashed hair. Unkempt clothes. A beer belly and then some. When our grown children don’t look their best–not even close to it–it’s upsetting. Embarrassing. Annoying. Is it a blow to the pride?–you want to show them off but here they are looking down at the heels. Is it plain old materialism?–they should be showcasing the…

Do we give till it hurts? Between my friends, their friends, friends of theirs and people who’ve clicked onto this blog, there’s a recurrent theme: How much, how often, for what and until when do we help our kids out financially. It’s all very personal, of course. But here’s a little statistical oversight from a…

Are our grown children our friends? Can they be our best friends? Not likely–there is an emotional component that bars the way. If a friend–best or otherwise–loses a job, gains too much weight, becomes ill, we’d worry about them and talk to them directly. "Are you OK?" we might ask. "Is there anything I can…

My dentist has two sons: One lives nearby; the other half way across the country in Michigan. Every Christmas, the sons and their families come to her house for the holidays. This year, when she was discussing the holidays with her Michigan son, he brought up the question of travel. He didn’t know what to…

It’s November and all thoughts turn to summer vacation. Should we be making plans for a multi-family love-in with all offspring and theirs? The first year we tried that, we bundled into one 4-bedroom condo: alpha daughter, her hub and a one year old; uber son, his wife and a 5-month and 2 year old.…