Home for the Holidays…and Every Other Day
That’s the title of a new report by the Pew Research Center that found ten percent of adults ages 18 to 34 (10%) say the poor economy has forced them to move back home in the past year.
Other findings: 12% say they acquired a roommate; 15% of adults younger than 35 say they have postponed getting married because of the recession, and 14% say they have delayed having a baby.
Social Etiquette
Intergenerational issues filled the NY Times Social Q’s column last week. A stepmother wants to know if it’s okay to borrow money from her wealthy stepdaughters (now there’s a switch). A daughter-in-law complains that her husband’s mother scolds her friends on Facebook. And a mom notes that even her adult children are substituting the phrase “no problem” for “you’re welcome.” To the last problem columnist Philip Galanes replies,
I prefer “you’re welcome” or “my pleasure” — which is even better in its effusive (and mostly fake) courtliness. But I’m afraid, Karen, this is what we in the etiquette business call a high-class problem: Much better that the whippersnappers are doing the right thing that calls for your thanks in the first place, right? So try to focus on that instead.
Toy Safety
Grandparents will be out there storming the malls in pursuit of holiday presents for the grandkiddies. A lot has changed since our children were tots including safety issues. (Just last week more dropside cribs were recalled.) Before buying check out the various websites recommended in seattlepi.com “Boomer Consumer” column including Healthystuff.org and Trouble in Toyland.
Club Sandwich Generation
We’ve all heard of the sandwich generation but here’s a new term described in NewJerseynewsroom.com. The club sandwich is “those in their 50s or 60s, sandwiched between aging parents, adult children and grandchildren.” Hold the mayo, slippery enough already.
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