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Dear Mom, Dad: Please Send Bailout

Parents face tough choices as debt-ridden kids struggle to find work

By Rob Quinn,  Newser Staff

Posted Oct 8, 2008 8:45 AM CDT

(Newser) – The families of many debt-laden college graduates are pondering bailouts of their own as the job market sours, the Wall Street Journal reports. With the average student loan now $22,000, parents of some struggling grads face a tough choice—to let their kids learn a lesson about credit the hard way, or to give them a helping hand and a lecture.

Some parents are helping out their adult children for the sake of preserving their credit ratings for later in life, while others who have co-signed on loans have little choice but to pick up the slack. Finance experts recommend that if parents are going to help out kids who took on too much debt, is should be done in a structured way that teaches accountability.

Students shield themselves from the sun during graduation ceremonies at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles on Friday, May 16, 2008.
Students shield themselves from the sun during graduation ceremonies at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles on Friday, May 16, 2008.   (AP Photo/Nick Ut)
University of Missouri senior Kristen Overmyer studies on the columns on the Columbia, Mo. campus Friday, Sept. 28, 2007.
University of Missouri senior Kristen Overmyer studies on the columns on the Columbia, Mo. campus Friday, Sept. 28, 2007.   (AP Photo/L.G. Patterson)
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Similar to questions about the overall economy, many parents are wondering, 'Should I bail my kid out? Or let him claw his own way, let him fail?' - Bruce McClary, a credit counselor for ClearPoint Financial Solutions, a nonprofit credit-counseling service

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