[A] Trends
　　[B] Models
　　[C] Self-care
　　[D] Decisions
　　[E] Conflicts
　　[F] Self-preservation
　　[G] Spell it out
　　Keith Hewson, a 29-year-old airline pilot, hadn't planned to live with his in-laws after he got married. But he quickly realized that sharing a three-bedroom Houston townhouse with his wife's parents, who offered to let them live there rent free, would allow him and his wife, Katy, to pay off their student loans and credit card debt and save for a house of their own.
Hewson is part of a generation that is benefiting from the generosity of its parents, who are approaching retirement or already retired. Almost 4 in 10 adults age 60 or older give money to their adult children, while only about 12 percent get financial help from their kids, according to the Pew Research Center.
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　　High housing prices, the rising cost of higher education, and the relative affluence of the older generation are among the factors driving the tendency, which experts expect to become more pronounced as more baby boomers enter their golden years over the next two decades. Indeed, the annual cost of a public four-year college has more than doubled over the past 20 years, and housing prices over the same period have more than tripled on average. That has provided more wealth to boomer homeowners while at the same time making it harder for their kids to buy first homes. “It's just more and more important for kids to get this kind of help,” Coontz says, noting that families unable to give cash often provide non-monetary help, such as offering to baby-sit their grandchildren or allowing adult children to move in with them.
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　　But depending on retired parents can also create family tension. “It's embarrassing,” says Sharon Davey, a single mother of two young daughters in Merrimack, N. H. Since her divorce about four years ago, she has been relying on her mother's help. “It makes me feel like a little kid, and I'm 46 years old ... Obviously, I'm extremely thankful and appreciate that she helped me when I don't know what I would have done, but it's a hard pill to swallow.” Eileen Gallo, a psychotherapist and coauthor of The Financially Intelligent Parent, recommends that parents ask themselves if giving money makes an adult child more or less independent. Her husband and coauthor, Jon Gallo, warns that dependence can breed tension: “If you continue to have to be rescued by your parents, you start to resent your parents.”
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　　When considering making loans or gifts, experts warn that parents should first protect themselves from financial distress. An Ameriprise Financial survey found that many baby boomers didn't realize how much the help they were providing was cutting into their own retirement savings. About 30 percent of baby boomers said the money they gave to their adult children negatively affected their own retirement savings, but most were unaware of the impact it was having.
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　　If parents do decide to give money, the Gallos recommend discussing the details in advance, including whether the money comes with any strings attached. For example, if money is earmarked for a car, can it be any type of car? If the money is a loan, when does it need to be repaid, and at what interest rate? New companies, such as Virgin Money, allow family members as well as friends to lend each other money through a more formal arrangement, which includes automatic monthly payments and deposits.
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　　Parents may want to consider the example they're setting. Frank Furstenberg, professor of sociology at the University of Pennsylvania, says young adults today may watch their parents providing so much support for so long—and be wary of becoming parents themselves. And that, of course, would be very bad news for boomers who aspire to become grandparents.
（此文选自U.S. News & World Report 2007年刊）