Moms love boomerang boys - study
2011-02-22 15:45
London - Parents are three times more likely to allow their adult sons to return to the family home than daughters, revealed a survey published this week.
The "Flying the Nest" study showed that returning sons or "boomerang boys" are considered more obliging house guests than their sisters and that they easily wrap their mothers around their little fingers.
Sons are more likely to pay rent, lend a hand with the housework and accept parental advice on careers and love, compared with daughters who are regarded as lazier and less likely to contribute to the household, the survey discovered.
More than half the mothers interviewed for the study were glad their sons had returned home, and only 18% acknowledged their boys had overstayed their welcome. The survey showed that 58% of mums admitted spoiling their sons, but only 35% gave their daughters the same treatment.
Mums are more inclined to cook dinner for their sons, wash and iron their clothes and provide a taxi service. Sons also tend to be more frequent recipients of cash handouts.
Dependent
Four out of 10 parents admitted doling out money to their sons, averaging £624.18 during a stay. However, although boys request cash more frequently, girls borrow more in total, averaging at about £689.61.
"It's not surprising how much boys seem to get away with compared to girls when it comes to their parents," psychiatrist Avie Luthra said in a statement with the survey's results.
The survey of 3 000 people over the age of 18 who are living at home and 1 500 parents hosting adult offspring was commissioned by Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment to mark the DVD release of the film Cyrus.
Despite the apparent willingness of mums to coddle their sons, the survey also revealed that parents were concerned about them becoming too dependent and never moving out again.
A third of parents also said that having their child back at home with them means that they argue more; with a fifth being embarrassed by the move and 16% admitting they had thought of downsizing just to get rid of their children.