It wasn't so long ago that we all learned about so-called "helicopter parents," who were so intent on their child's success they hovered over the little darling at every move, making decisions, arranging schedules, seldom allowing the tyke any time to develop on his or her own.
Well, critics tell us that helicopter parenting is a major component in the development of "boomerang kids," young people who graduate high school and college with bright futures but fail miserably when left on their own and end up back home living with mom and dad-sometimes for years.
Sounds reasonable. Hard to grow up and be
independent when you're never given the chance. But there are those who apparently don't want that chance in the first place.
Take the case of Michael Rotondo. We can't say how his parents, Christian and Mark Rotondo, raised him, but we can report on the result. Michael is 30 now and still living under his parents' roof in Camillus, N.Y. According to the elder Rotondos, he doesn't pay rent or help out around the house. And they want him gone.
Since early February they have given their son five written notices, with deadlines, ordering him out. They have even offered him more than $1,000 cash to help him get started in the real world.
But Michael hasn't budged.
So in April his parents went to court. But it turns out the municipal judge has no power to remove a family member-even a 30-year-old child-from a home. So this month they filed in state court. Michael is fighting on. He submitted a response in court claiming he must be given six-months notice of eviction under "common law" and that none of his parents' notes provided adequate time. He is moving for dismissal.
So what can you do when your child decides home is where the heart is-along with bed, board and laundry-forever? We wish we could say this is a unique case, but is it? It's a tough, competitive world out there and if your parents let you get away with opting out, well, it's a pretty comfortable situation. We suspect there are many parents-including some right here in the Twin Cities-who want to know how this case turns out. And, depending on how it goes, a lot more adult children who may soon get a taste of life outside the parental nest.