At what age are millennials actually considered to be independent? Photo / 123RF
At what age are millennials actually considered to be independent? Photo / 123RF
We do not feel truly independent until the age of 26, a survey suggests.
Adults believe it is harder than ever for the young to start fending for themselves.
The state of the economy, a longer time spent in education and a lack of effort were all blamed by thosesurveyed for the struggle to cut the apron strings.
By contrast, children in the 1980s were cooking family meals and helping out around the house even before they became teenagers.
The survey also revealed the top 50 signs of independence, including being able to budget efficiently, being financially independent from mum and dad, and paying your own bills.
Despite the legal age of adulthood now being 18 in the UK (and NZ), six in 10 adults do not believe this reflects the real age of independence.
Thirty-eight per cent of the 2000 over-25s surveyed by OnePoll, a marketing research company, admit they still rely on parents or guardians emotionally or otherwise.
Jermain Jackman, of the National Citizen Service Trust Board, which commissioned the research, said: "The age of independence is real and every young person experiences it. However, different people go through it at different times".
1. Being financially independent 2. Moving out of your parents' home 3. Managing your bills 4. Buying a home 5. Having a job 6. Being able to budget 7. Having control of your bank account 8. Paying rent 9. Having savings 10. Paying your own mobile phone bill 11. Planning and going to do your weekly food shop 12. Washing your clothes 13. Buying household goods e.g. a vacuum cleaner or a mattress 14. Booking a doctor's and dentist's appointment 15. Being self-motivated 16. Owning a car 17. Buying your own clothes 18. Going on holiday without your parents 19. Making your own dinner 20. Voting 21. Being confident at taking on any task without help 22. Sorting out car problems 23. Travelling abroad alone 24. Passing your driving test 25. Having a baby 26. Buying your own towels 27. Having no problem saying 'No' to people 28. Being comfortable challenging other's opinions 29. Being confident talking to new people 30. Navigating public transport alone 31. Having life insurance 32. Not having a curfew 33. Reading a gas or electricity meter 34. Confidently being able to cook a roast dinner 35. Having a credit card 36. Changing a light bulb 37. Happily going out for a meal alone 38. Having your family and friends come to you for advice 39. Getting a pet without asking permission 40. Buying alcohol 41. Dressing weather-appropriately 42. Volunteering 43. Mowing the lawn 44. Buying toilet paper 45. Having sex 46. Owning cleaning products 47. Hosting dinner parties 48. Baking a cake without looking at a recipe 49. Putting up a tent 50. Having your own social media accounts
