Continued from here:

But even if kids do develop an effective relationship with a washing machine while getting a degree, it doesn't necessarily mean they're ready for the world. It may not sound like good biology, but Helicopters beget Boomerangs.

Does any of this ring a bell?

Justin Clark lives in a million dollar waterfront home rent free. Most weekends he takes the jet boat for a spin down the Intracoastal and when he comes home from work there's usually a hot meal on the table and clean clothes in his drawer.

Not a bad life for a 25-year-old starting out in the roofing business.

Of course, his parents own the home and the boat. His mom still does the cooking and laundry for him and his sister, Jackie, a 24-year-old teacher, who also shacks up with mom and dad.

According to the article, four in ten graduates from last year are living with their parents. And why not?

"It's free, the cooking is a lot better and you get to live in a lot nicer place than I normally would with my salary," said Clark, who moved to his parents' South Florida home one year after graduating with a business and economics major from Westmont College in Santa Barbara, Calif.

"And I can save up for a place of my own versus paying rent."

Handy ... but there must be a negative or two ...

Of course, living at home doesn't necessarily mean a free ride. Clark, who makes about $35,000 a year plus commissions, mows the lawn and does other home improvements, while his sister does the dishes and helps with the cooking and cleaning.

Don't know about you, but I'd be mighty unhappy if all my hard work and dedication as a parent resulted in not much more than my lawn being mowed by a kid with a degree in business and economics! I'd also be thinking that some of the 35 grand could help a bit with the grocery bills.

Of course, if he's as reasonable (?) as this young man, it would be okay ...

"I got home at four or five in the morning on a Monday night and they're like 'This can't be going on,'" said Jiminez, a 2004 University of Florida grad who moved back after two years in a rewarding but low-paying government job in Washington D.C. "Yesterday, I hadn't been home all day. When I got home at eight at night, they were like, 'Where have you been?'"

... Jiminez, who is considering grad school, doesn't plan to live at home for more than 18 months, though he say there's definitely no stigma attached.

"The majority of my friends live with their parents," he said. "It's easier living at home financially. It makes more sense. I vowed to myself that I wouldn't pay rent again until I was able to get my own place."

So, as I was saying ... we need to watch this tendency to be overly grateful for our children. Love, care for, cherish and adore, yes, but demand a passing familiarity with the spin cycle and a few other survival skills ... a little appreciation would be nice, too.