A story out of the UK reports the results of a survey that shows how today's young adults are more dependent on their parents than we ever were.

Two thirds of the over-50s questioned said they received no financial help from their parents when they were in their 20s - but 64% of them help out their adult offspring.

Half of parents have paid towards their child's first car, spending an average of £1854 ($3608) - a total of more than £18billion. ($35 billion)

More than a quarter have helped their child buy property, spending on average £5796 ($11,280).

And three out of 10 said they pay towards some, or all, of their children's daily living costs.

Although that article doesn't address adoptive parents, this one suggests we do even more for our kids.

The study, published in the new issue of the American Sociological Review, found that couples who adopt spend more money on their children and invest more time on such activities as reading to them, eating together and talking with them about their problems.

... The researchers noted that adoptive couples, in general, were older and wealthier than biological parents, but said the adoptive parents still had an advantage albeit smaller when the data was reanalyzed to account for income inequality.

In particular, the researchers said, adoptive parents had a pronounced edge over single-parent and stepparent families.

The researchers said their findings call into question the long-standing argument that children are best off with their biological parents.

Click here for the pdf of the report, "Adoptive Parents, Adaptive Parents"Evaluating the Importance of Biological Ties for Parental Investment."

Here's a look at adoption by gays from a Jewish perspective.

For a review of "Because I Loved You, A Birthmother's View of Open Adoptions", click here.