Two in three Danish parents provide financial support to their adult children who are aged between 18 and 29 years, a new YouGov survey shows.
Adult children aged 18-20 are financially backed by 87 percent of parents, while the proportion falls to 46 percent for individuals aged between 27 and 29.
Parents continue to subsidise their kids’ living costs after they move out of the family home, the survey also found.
The average amount young people who still live at home receive from their parents each month is 1,903 kroner. After they move out, the amount falls to 1,053 kroner per month.
Phone contracts, food and insurance are the three categories most-often covered by the financial support.
Nordea economist Ida Marie Moesby told news wire Ritzau she was surprised by the conclusions of the analysis.
“It surprises me how many parents give their adult children financial support even when they’re well into their twenties,” she said.
“This is not necessarily about parents spoiling their children, but about structural circumstances,” the economist said.
“Many people are moving out later, while housing costs are high, especially in bigger cities,” she explained.
“For some young people, financial support therefore becomes a way of making ends meet during an extended transitional period,” Moesby said.
Many parents meanwhile have enough financial leeway to “make it possible for them to lend a helping hand,” she continued.
However, parents should set out some boundaries for providing the adult children with financial support, the economist advised.
“Even if it is well-intentioned, there is a risk that some adult children may not feel motivated to make an effort to earn their own money.
“And when the support one day stops, they may not have learned to live within their means,” she said.
“So it’s a very good idea to have some clear agreements about what the support covers and how long it will last,” she said.
Some 1,004 respondents aged 47 to 59 with children aged 18 to 29 took part in the survey.
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