Italians continue to have problems leaving the family nest and 45% between the ages of 30 and 35 still live at home, according to a new study.
The study was carried out by the Italian Institute for Social Medicine and presented here on Thursday at a conference on the 'Parents of Tomorrow'.
The report found that Italians considered 26 to be the best age for striking it out alone, but in the end the children did not leave until they are 30 or older.
A poll taken for the study found that parents were in part responsible for their children remaining eternal Peter Pans, with only 18%, especially mothers, believing offspring should leave home once they turn legal age.
The study found that Italians considered 35 the right age to set up a family of their own and have children.
However, even when children do marry and leave home they do not go far. Almost half of the new couples surveyed in the study go to live within a kilometer of the home of the parents of either the husband or wife.
According to the report, new families today claim they want to have two children but in the end only have one and here again their own parents appear to have a role in this decision.
Because many families today find they need two incomes, grandparents play a more active role in the families of their offspring and many would prefer taking care of one grandchild rather than two or more.
In fact, only half of the grandparents quizzed for the study who had one grandchild said they WERE actively lobbying their offspring to have another.
And among those who already had two grandchildren, only one fifth said they wanted more.
