More than half of parents in the United States are helping , or have helped their adult children who have been hit by high unemployment and stagnant（无变化的）wages, according to a new survey. It showed that present economic conditions are discouraging young adults from leaving home and forcing those who have already gone, so - called boomerang children, to return. “Parents are continuing their financial involvement longer than we expected,” said Ted Beck, the president and CEO of National Endowment for Financial Education (NEFE). About 60 percent of parents questioned in the survey said they are helping their adult children who are no longer in school financially, providing housing and living expenses. For an increasing number of adult children, the situation is bad. Two - thirds of adult children, aged 18 to 39, who are not in school said they faced tougher financial pressures than previous generations, according to the survey. And nearly one - third of parents agreed that it was easier for them to earn money than for their children. Parents are helping their children out of genuine concern, and because they do not want to see them struggle. But Beck said that parents who make sacrifices to help their adult children should be cautious about their own finances. “If you are taking on extra debt or delaying retirement to help your adult child, you could be making a mistake and putting your own financial future in danger.” Beck warned. Boomerang children can also cause other problems for their parents. Thirty percent of parents said they had given up privacy since their adult children moved back home, while more than a quarter have taken on added debt, and ten percent have delayed retirement. But the survey also showed that 42 percent of adult children living at home are helping with the cooking and cleaning. 小题1:The underlined words “boomerang children” in the first paragraph likely means ________.
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