Five out of every ten Italians live with their children, and nearly half of those of working age are completely dependent on their parents. On average, children consume one-third of the average monthly household expenditure, primarily for clothing and footwear, schoolbooks, sports activities, and meals away from home. However, for one-third of households, children's expenses account for 40% to 70% of the family budget. To cover these costs, 6 out of 10 parents have had to give up shopping for themselves, eating out, and taking vacations, while 3 out of 10 have had to make sacrifices on their children for clothing, a new smartphone, and going out with friends. These are the main findings of the FragilItalia Report "The Cost of Children", prepared by the Legacoop Research Area and Ipsos, based on the results of an analysis conducted on a representative sample of the Italian population to test their opinions on the subject. As previously stated, half of respondents (48%) say they have children living with them. In the case of adult children (19% between 19 and 25 years old; 23% over 25 years old), nearly half (47%) are completely dependent on their parents, while 29% work to help with the family's expenses. It should be noted that 24% of adult children continue to live with their families despite working and not burdening the family budget, demonstrating the persistent difficulty of young people in affording the cost of renting or purchasing an independent home.
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