Joyce Wadler writes in the New York Times (May 14): “When hard economic times force adults to move back into their parents’ homes, the move is rarely without tensions.”

Wadler’s article includes interviews with numerous individuals and couples well into their 30s, some with young children.

According to the Census Bureau, as of last year there were 5.1 million Americans age 25 to 34 living in the home of a parent — a dramatic increase over the 4.3 million who were doing so in 2004, and a figure that does not take into account the economic displacements of the last several months. More startlingly, when AARP, the lobby for older Americans, surveyed 1,000 adults this spring it found that 11 percent of people between ages 35 and 44 — traditionally the high-earning years in which adults come into their own professionally — were living with parents or in-laws.

The journalist concludes that it ain’t easy, all too often it can become permanent, and the best you can do is remember constantly to respect one another’s space. We would add, of course: Make clear your Deal, by writing it down, signing it, and periodically reviewing it.