| There is an increasing trend among Australian young people* to live
at home for longer periods of time. This has been attributed to many
factors, most of which are mainly based around the financial dependence
of young people on their parents. In other words, most people wouldn't live
at home if they could afford living somewhere else.
These are just some of the factors affecting the patterns of
youth accommodation. As a result of these, young people are often caught
between "adulthood" and "adolescence", especially in the eyes of the
government, which uses parents to mediate between youth and themselves.
It can cause great tension and conflict in the family unit as power
balances are tested and, to a large extent, unknown. Can you tell your
25 year old daughter to be home by a certain time to set a good example
for the younger kids? Can you tell your 28 year old son that he
hasn't taken the garbage out for a month and it's his turn? This is even
more pronounced in households built on a step-parent family, where both
step-parent and 'child' are unsure of what is expected of them in the
relationship.
The financial strain a young person can cause when living at home also
causes tension. Often, younger siblings have to do without special
treats as the family budget is stretched. This leads to a strain on
family relationships, and can be quite harmful to the family in the long
term.
*"Young people" are described by the Australian
government as those aged between 16 and 25, but as trends such as
those described here change it is common to accept that a person is
"young" until they are up to 30 years old.
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