European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - August 21, 1990, Darmstadt, Hesse                                T a r tee Jis having o quite i Are of 13 2.76. The sing in he Quot the changeover from a. Manufacturing to a service Economy requires just the Type of employee the teenager is Quot said Rand president Lester Rand Quot and a some teens do get Premium pay because in Many suburban areas there is a shortage of this Type of  a a a a a a Mcdonald a corp., for one boasts that it is not a a minimum wage employer.11 a a a it is not unheard of for a High s Chol student to bring in anywhere from $100 to $300 a week for Par time work Rand said. Beyond their own spending teens have an incalculable ability to influence the purchases of their  they Are used As. Advisors to adults in the family to buy Highduch audio equipment where they know a hell of a lot More than grownups As Well As vacations automobiles and where the family goes to dinner tonight Quot Fitzgibbon said. Zollo s Survey said 57 percent of teens influenced the Purchase of a personal computer this year 09. Percent had input when it came to making family. Vacation plans 49 percent had a say in which car their families bought and 43 percent helped parents pick out a to. A Quot we re always very interested in the presence of children in the Home Quot said Daniel Infanti a spokesman for Sharp electronics corp. Not Only do Young people influence family purchases but they embrace the latest technological advances. A there Are Many adults out there who done to know How to program a Var but they ask their 13 year of a son and he can Quot Infanti said a. To reach the younger set Sharp tends to focus on promotions at sporting events a like giving away Sharp hats at baseball games a a rather than traditional print and television ads. Apple computer corp. Prefers hands on experience to advertising directly to kids. The company is the leading provider of computers to schools from kindergarten to High school. This year a National promotion had students from 30,000 schools saving grocery store receipts from 40. Major supermarket chains to be swapped for Apple computers. More than 20,000 computers and 6.000 printers were awarded to the schools said. Spokeswoman Mary Fallon. Other companies that sell products that do not directly touch teen lives Are advertising in teen magazines to get a head Start on instilling Brand loyalty. Lenox China also is pitched in teen a magazines circulated almost exclusively among girls even though the wedding Day is usually a Long Way off. Egnan cies e risk looking j rarely 2 a broken it i daily Jet on the suicides used Ilner Able y a ams n. There aimed at me she to Thev the and for ind have suicide .1 worke is Quot the most common risk Factor is a broken family Structure Quot said Mike Hughes executive director of rehab of Arizona a social service Agency in Mosa. Hughes said most cases of teenage pregnancy and or us c de involve Young people whose parents Are separa cd or divorced. The data network for human services study also showed that a acc Hal and drugs Are the no. 1 cause of the increase in tonnage suicide rates a suicide is More prevalent in Rural areas than Urban. A males commit suicide at a rate much higher than females. A adolescent Ceic do v earns Usua by have Abov be average in a in cities be. Moot but Are having  in teenage mothers it noted that a teens from Large families Are More Likely to have sox at an earlier age a aks Chc and drug use figure prominently in teenage pregnancies. A single Parent female headed households Are More Likely to have child in who Are More sexually Active. A there is usually a breakdown in communications Between mothers arid their teenagers who become pregnant. Adult children living at homely Lawrence m. Kutner new York times Rhoda and Bruce Millers 19-year-old son Marc will leave Home this fait of begin his Junior year at the University of Delaware but their two eldest sons. Bill 22, and Jon. -. 21, Are living at  West Orange . Quot indefinitely Quot mrs. Miller said Bill who graduated from Kutztown state College in Pennsylvania last Spring will begin looking for a full time Job in a month or two. Jon dropped out of Stockton state College in new Jersey after two years and is now working and learning to be a graphic artist. Or and mrs. Miller sometimes wonder if their children Are too dependent but they Are reluctant to push them out the door until they Are in better financial shape. Though the idea of a Young adult or even a married couple living away from the parental Home would strike other cultures As strange our culture associates adulthood with financial Independence. We tend to View with suspicion or even disdain those Young adults who live with their parents or accept their financial support. The Millers decision to support their children longer than their own parents supported them is based on a blend of logic and emotion.,. Quot i feel uncomfortable burdening them with Bills when the few extra dollars  make a big difference in our lives Quot said mrs Miller a Low income housing Developer for the Jersey City housing authority who is acutely aware of the Cost of living on the East coast. Her husband runs a graphic arts business in Manhattan a at some Point it will be to everyone a advantage for them to move out on their own Quot she went on. Quot bul l Don t know when that Point will be or Nancy k. Schlossberg. A professor of Counselor education at the University of Maryland said the critical Issue was not age. Quot what a More important Are the reasons they need that financial support Quot she said Quot Are they going Back to school or Are they just avoiding work Quot a mrs. Miller is Adamant about paying for her children s College education in part she admits because her own parents could not pay. Tor hers. She married soon after High school and finished College when she was 35. Quot when we got married our parents just gave us a bedroom set Quot mrs. Miller said. Quot but rents were. Reasonable we were paying $65 per month. That was my weekly salary. It does t Wick that Way  the common expectation that Young adults will finish school and immediately become financially a Independent May be based More on myth than on reality. Even  two generations ago. When housing and taxes took a smaller share of a new Woikow s paycheck not Many were making it totally on i heir own. Many older parents in turn depended on their Middle age children for financial support. Or Allan Schnaiberg a professor of sociology at Northwestern University studied Youngs couples who lived away from their parents in the two decades after world War ii. A. Quot they were actually receiving a lot of Materia support from their  to said Quot what was really. Happening was that the older generation was becoming less dependent on their children Quot even when adult children dearly need their parents financial support it May come at an emotional Price. In Many families Money is Rife with symbolism. It can be an unconscious substitute Tor affection or a measure of general competence and worthiness. That symbolism is often unspoken but it is generally understood within each family. Quot if Money is symbolic of competence in a family and parents insist on funding a child they May be sending a signal that they really Don t Trust that child s competence Quot said or. Kennelh o Doyle a psychologist at the University of Minnesota who specializes in financial issues. Quot in families in which Money is symbolic of affection the parents May feel that they re denying affection to their child if they can t support that child through College or  a More common problem is that Many financially dependent children receive a conflicting message from their parents you re grown up now but you can t really make it on your own. As a result the family Seldom fits together As Well As it did when the children were younger. Quot i have come to the conclusion Quot mrs. Miller said Quot that the House that s Largo enough lot two adults and three children Isnit nearly Large enough Lor live  in the move to self sufficiency new York times parents who Are still supporting their adult children should keep several things in mind that  make their children s to  to Independence easier for everyone a a be sensitive to the symbolism of Money adult children May use their financial demands As a code for How they View themselves. Quot a child s request for Money May reflect feelings of incompetence Quot said or. Kenneth o. Doyle a psychologist at the University of Minnesota  in financial issues. A providing Money without talking about the deeper issues May reinforce those feelings. Instead talk about what else your child is feeling and look for non Inanoni ways to provide support. A take a hard look at Why you Are supporting an adult child there is no question that there Are Many valid reasons for giving Money or Ether material support to an older child sometimes however the financial reasons Are eclipsed by subconscious psychological motivations. Quot when parents give Money that can have an unwritten message about who s really in control said or. Nancy k Schlossberg a professor of Counselor education at the University of Maryland. A. A both of you. Should know your  s. Quot ii s important to set grids in the s in Purl both in the amount of Money cod in what you-1 expect in return such As  grades at school or work around the Homo Quot Shlossberg said. It is often useful to put Toga i her arid  a contract that outlines the expectations each of you has for the other and Vii at each of you is responsible for. The contract should include a time limit and a Clear statement of whal will happen if your children  to keep their promises. A ask yourself if someone is  Hud in the relationship. Are you being exploded by your children 1 Are your children no i being Given a Chance to test their Independence and self sufficiency if you feel that someone Vij possibly being Hud it is often useful to ask a family the rag a to help you work Cut the problem As a group tuesday. 1 a gust 21, 1990 the stars and strikes a a Page 15