About ten per cent of adult children are helping their parents during these tough times, a recent report has shown. Although these parents need assistance, at times it leaves the children vulnerable themselves.

The average handout to our parents last year was more than 8,200 pounds. While almost twenty per cent used the handout for a remortgage or a down payment on a new house, the remaining eighty per cent used it for debt and living expenses. One investment report showed that since the parents averaged spending about 13,000 pounds on them during their childhood, the parents merely are taking a little off the tab for what they did for their kids up to adulthood.

The remortgage idea will work out to their advantage, as interest rates are still at historic lows. To use the funds to remortgage, the parents should be able to negotiate fantastic terms with as much equity they probably have built up by now.

One adult child who lent 3,000 pounds to her parents a few years ago said it was an honor to be able to help out. She described what her parents were going through, saying: "I found out my parents had got into a bit of difficulty. My mum was really upset and told me they were in massive arrears on their mortgage. I was in a position to help so I rang the bank and took a two year loan to help them get back on the straight and narrow. They had helped me out a lot over the years, so it was a nice feeling to help them for once. They paid me back, but I made sure that if they got into difficulties again, I could afford to keep up the repayments."

Children are helping out their parents at their own risk though, with 28 per cent having to dip into savings or investments. It seems the parents will have to double dip themselves into their children, at least 35 per cent of them.