Boomer’s Surprise: Boomrangers And Aging Parents

DESIGN | by CELESTE TELL

HERE’S A GREAT WORD for the Urban Dictionary: Boomerangers. Definition: the adult children of baby boomers moving home again due to financial or other hardship. I get it. Many of my friends’ kids are indeed moving back in either during or after college, or because they can’t find jobs.

On the flip side, there are just as many boomers whose parents or in-laws are moving in with them. It’s no wonder we are called the sandwich generation. According to the U.S. Census, the number of households with at least three generations increased 30 percent between 2000 and 2009.

When the kids or the parents decide to move in, the biggest considerations are space and communication:

• Reorganize existing spaces to provide balance between personal privacy, independence and communal living. Furniture and paint can turn a family or rec room into a studio apartment, a guest suite into a living space or a second floor into an almost-separate apartment — minus the cooking facilities.
• Remodel a basement, attic, garage or other area to create fully independent living space with separate entrances and cooking facilities. Check local zoning and building codes to learn what you can and can’t do. And be sure to get appropriate permits and comply with all requirements.
• Establish and agree on ground rules, such as who can use the kitchen at what hours and when loud music is — and isn’t — acceptable. Make sure each family member has an opportunity to have her or his day-to-day needs accommodated.

Whether it is your kids or your parents moving back in (or both!) look at it as an opportunity to create a new kind of relationship at a unique point in all of your lives.