I think at that time, you do not understand consequences, whether it is drinking and driving or goofing off at school. I never looked ahead beyond the next day. Some parents who had children when they were young now admit how little they knew when they embarked on what seemed a fairy-tale experience. Some adolescents stay with their parents well after they could leave. Actually, many young people are living with their parents well into their 20s, or moving back with them after initially striking out on their own.
Mom still does the laundry.
Mr. Walsh said the scarcity of jobs could be one factor, along with the inability to support the standard of living to which they are accustomed. That may sound a bit indulgent, compared to the days when adults commonly nudged their kids to move on. But interviews with parents reveal a sense that the world is a more treacherous place than it used to be. Rather than push the kids out the door, many parents want to hold on as long as they can. Another factor is that many working parents feel guilty about spending so much time away from their children, so, as Mr. Walsh says, they try to offset that by having them stay home longer.