* The Boomerang Age was named an Outstanding Academic Title of 2007 by Choice Magazine.Domestic changes are taking place in the lives of young adults in Western industrialized societies. Today's young people often experience less permanency and more movement in a variety of family-related roles, statuses, and living arrangements. Among the most prominent changes is the phenomenon of "boomerang kids," young adults returning to the parental home after their initial entrance into the adult world. The Boomerang Age, explores the implications of this development in a changing sociocultural, economic, and demographic landscape.Mitchell begins by addressing definitional, conceptual, and measurement issues relevant to the "boomerang age." She then places the issues in historical perspective by considering trends in family organization--the nuclear family, marriage and divorce rates and fertility--over the past hundred years with emphasis on the 1950s family as a cultural benchmark. The book then turns to the contemporary trajectory of home leaving and returning, analyzing the "launch" and return phases with regard to economic factors, regional differences, and racial and ethnic backgrounds.Mitchell then explores the more personal dimensions of how a return to the family is complicated by partnership (marriage, divorce, cohabitation, homosexuality) and parenthood among young couples. Moving outside the home, she looks at how public issues such as globalization, the decline of the welfare state, and various forms of social inequality affect the circumstances of young adulthood. Here Mitchell offers specific social policy recommendations pertaining to education, housing and dependency issues, childcare, and gender and racial equality. The book concludes by critically evaluating the advantages and drawbacks of two possible future scenarios: increased individualization in the pursuit of social g

"She's 22 years old, for heaven's sake! We thought she'd be grown up by now. But no, it's one more crisis after another. And then she calls on us—for emotional support, problem-solving advice. Even money...although we've gotten pretty tough about that. It's like she's still a teen! Why is it so hard for her just to act like an adult?" Around age 18, most young people expect, and are expected to, move out and live on their own—either at college or in an apartment. But more and more often, "boomerang kids" are returning home defeated, leaving you frustrated and at a loss for how to help them. In this breakthrough book, Carl Pickhardt, author of Why Good Kids Act Cruel, exposes the hidden period of development that's causing increasing numbers of post-high school and college age kids to fail on their own and tells parents what you can do to fix it. His new approach to understanding young adulthood proposes that 18–to–23 year-olds have reached not adulthood, but a final stage of adolescence called "trial independence." Boomerang Kids helps parents understand this little-discussed period in your children's lives, so you can help them get through this last and most difficult stage of adolescence and get back out on their own, to become fully, and successfully, independent adults.

Why are adults in their twenties and thirties stuck in their parents’ homes in the world’s wealthiest countries? There’s no question that globalization has drastically changed the cultural landscape across the world. The cost of living is rising, and high unemployment rates have created an untenable economic climate that has severely compromised the path to adulthood for young people in their twenties and thirties. And there’s no end in sight. Families are hunkering down, expanding the reach of their households to envelop economically vulnerable young adults. Acclaimed sociologist Katherine Newman explores the trend toward a rising number of “accordion families” composed of adult children who will be living off their parents’ retirement savings with little means of their own when the older generation is gone. While the trend crosses the developed world, the cultural and political responses to accordion families differ dramatically. In Japan, there is a sense of horror and fear associated with “parasite singles,” whereas in Italy, the “cult of mammismo,” or mamma’s boys, is common and widely accepted, though the government is rallying against it. Meanwhile, in Spain, frustrated parents and millenials angrily blame politicians and big business for the growing number of youth forced to live at home. Newman’s investigation, conducted in six countries, transports the reader into the homes of accordion families and uncovers fascinating links between globalization and the failure-to-launch trend. Drawing from over three hundred interviews, Newman concludes that nations with weak welfare states have the highest frequency of accordion families while the trend is virtually unknown in the Nordic countries. The United States is caught in between. But globalization is reshaping the landscape of adulthood everywhere, and the consequences are far-reaching in our private lives. In this gripping and urgent book, Newman urges Americans not to simply dismiss the boomerang generation but, rather, to strategize how we can help the younger generation make its own place in the world.

A hilariously subversive YA debut that explores the meaning of friendship and loyalty, and also why you should avoid being trapped in a small space with an angry chicken. Perfect for fans of Andrew Smith’s Winger and Frank Portman’s King Dork. It all started with a harmless prank. But now high school junior Lawrence Barry is one step away from reform school unless he participates in a mentorship program. His mentee? Spencer Knudsen, a Norwegian exchange student with Spock-like intelligence but the social skills of the periodic table. Then disaster strikes. Homecoming Week. When someone dressed as the school Viking mascot starts destroying the fairytale-inspired floats, all suspicion falls on Lawrence. Add to the mix a demon Goth girl, a Renaissance LARPing group, an overzealous yearbook editor, and three vindictive chickens, and Lawrence soon realizes that his situation may be a little out of control. But Spencer seems to have some answers. In fact, Spencer may be the one friend Lawrence never knew he needed.

The Real Parenting Experts Speak Out! For this invaluable book, Tom McMahon mounted a nationwide media campaign and gathered a wealth of tested and proven child raising tips from experienced parents in over three hundred cities across the country. Here are more than one thousand of the best, reflecting every aspect of parenting -- inside tips today's busy parents all too often don't have time to share with their family and friends. Discover fresh, unique, creative ideas that are fun, thrifty, easily accessible and pediatrician-approved for health and safety: PLAYTIME -- from indoor activities to outdoor play to coping with clutter and cleanup MEALTIME -- how to feed baby, deal with your finicky eater and dine out without losing your mind HEALTH AND SAFETY -- taking medicine painlessly, soothing colicky babies, visiting the doctor, and more DISCIPLINE -- three easy steps that short-circuit big problems before they begin! BEDTIME -- from putting baby to bed to quieting bumps in the night ON THE GO -- travel and vacations, errands and shopping made easy SELF ESTEEM AND RELATIONSHIPS -- promoting healthful self-respect and respect for others From baby basics to easy toilet training to teaching your children responsibility and more, here are fast, fabulous "fixes" that work!

Twenty-two million children over age 18 currently share their parents' homes, and this book tells how it is possible to live peacefully. From sharing chores, to rent, to eliminating parent-child roles, the emphasis is on ways to help children succeed on their own.

“Lewis shows again why he is the leading journalist of his generation.”—Kyle Smith, Forbes The tsunami of cheap credit that rolled across the planet between 2002 and 2008 was more than a simple financial phenomenon: it was temptation, offering entire societies the chance to reveal aspects of their characters they could not normally afford to indulge. Icelanders wanted to stop fishing and become investment bankers. The Greeks wanted to turn their country into a pinata stuffed with cash and allow as many citizens as possible to take a whack at it. The Germans wanted to be even more German; the Irish wanted to stop being Irish. Michael Lewis's investigation of bubbles beyond our shores is so brilliantly, sadly hilarious that it leads the American reader to a comfortable complacency: oh, those foolish foreigners. But when he turns a merciless eye on California and Washington, DC, we see that the narrative is a trap baited with humor, and we understand the reckoning that awaits the greatest and greediest of debtor nations.

LONGLISTED FOR THE 2020 CUNDILL HISTORY PRIZE Valkyries: the female supernatural beings that choose who dies and who lives on the battlefield. They protect some, but guide spears, arrows and sword blades into the bodies of others. Viking myths about valkyries attempt to elevate the banality of war – to make the pain and suffering, the lost limbs and deformities, the piles of lifeless bodies of young men, glorious and worthwhile. Rather than their death being futile, it is their destiny and good fortune, determined by divine beings. The women in these stories take full part in the power struggles and upheavals in their communities, for better or worse. Drawing on the latest historical and archaeological evidence, Valkyrie introduces readers to the dramatic and fascinating texts recorded in medieval Iceland, a culture able to imagine women in all kinds of roles carrying power, not just in this world, but pulling the strings in the other-world, too. In the process, this fascinating book uncovers the reality behind the myths and legends to reveal the dynamic, diverse lives of Viking women.

Dozens of designs: tumblestick, boomabird, pinwheel, cross-stick, curved-stick boomerang, and many more. Complete throwing instructions included.

Hundreds of thousands of people the world over agree: boomerangs are fun! Once you get the hang of throwing one, it can supply hours of healthy entertainment . . . especially the awesome trick catches and exciting games. This kit includes not only a regulation-size boomerang for right-handed throwers, but also an instruction book that provides a close-up look at how this ancient hunting tool works and its amazing history--as well as information about how to get involved in the boomerang community.