They're baaa-aack!

We haven't even launched our kids into "emancipation" yet and already the outlook is poor. All I hear about, it seems, is "boomerang" children--they leave home, try to set up independently somewhere, fail and come home to Mom and Dad. This is not necessarily a bad thing except that even in the best of circumstances, it causes a lot of tension to have adult children and parents all living in the same house.

That's not the way things used to be. I think extended families were prevalent at some point weren't they? At the very least, we all used to live together in the same town.

I would say the biggest problem in the house is that the adult children all think they are single heads of households and they're the boss. They don't seem to get that this is our house, we're paying for it and they're living here practically for free and that there are house rules that need to be followed.

So what is up with boomerang children? The article is called "Last Hope In A Weak Economy?" and you can read it in its entirety here.

A new survey by the retiree-advocacy group AARP found that one-fourth of Generation Xers, those 28 to 39 years old, receive financial help from family and friends.

The online survey of nearly 1,800 people ages 19 to 39 also found 57 percent believed they were "financially independent." But in a separate question, 33 percent said they received financial support from family and friends.

Oh and it gets even better than this. Now, with the increasingly poor economy and difficulty finding and keeping jobs even adult children my age are moving back home with mom and dad.

After being laid off from her job as an events planner at an upscale resort, Jo Ann Bauer struggled financially. She worked at several lower-paying jobs, relocated to a new city and even declared bankruptcy.

Then in December, she finally accepted her parents' invitation to move into their home — at age 52. "I'm back living in the bedroom that I grew up in," she said.

Taking shelter with parents isn't uncommon for young people in their 20s, especially when the job market is poor. But now the slumping economy and the credit crunch are forcing some children to do so later in life — even in middle age.

My parents, who are in their 70s, are financially more secure than TB and I right now. Hey, maybe it's a thought...NOT.