Parents and 20-something children closer than ever:

A survey of more than 1,000 young adults (aged 21 to 26) and 1,220 parents (aged 47 to 66) published in the latest issue of AARP The Magazine in the US shows that boomers are much more communicative with their 20-something children than they were with their own parents at that age.

The online survey, "Parents and Kids: Then and Now," shows  31 percent of today's young adults communicate with their parents more than once a day, while only 13 percent of their parents said they were in touch with their own parents daily.

The survey showed that 60 percent of today's young adults got together with their parents at least once a week; 79 percent said they were comfortable discussing emotional life events; and 81 percent felt comfortable sharing information about their finances.

However, both boomer parents (53 percent agreeing) and their children (63 percent) were divided on the statement: "It's better for young adults to live with their parents then to struggle on their own."

"For the last couple of years, we have been bombarded with media reports and all kinds of musings on kids coming back home, and what that means for boomers and the difficulties of young kids getting jobs," said deputy editor Marilyn Milloy about AARP's decision to conduct the survey.

"We tried to figure out a new way to look at this."

AARP concludes that millennials are experiencing a new stage of development from their parents' generation -- "emerging adulthood," a term coined by Clark University psychology professor Jeffrey Arnett.

"Jeffrey Arnett suggests we really have given short shrift to what is really happening to kids in that period from 18 to 29 -- it's a period of searching and self-discovery, particularly now in a time so complex, where the job market is dicey," says Milloy.

"There are so many options for our kids on a number of fronts, sexual choices and work choices, that they need more guidance than ever."

Though the survey never specifically addresses the issue of whether parents are too close to their adult children, Milloy said experts interviewed conclude this new connection is positive.