According to the Office for National statistics, nearly a quarter of young men aged 25-29 still live with their parents. And one in 10 of 30-34 year-old men have not flown the family nest. Student debt, unemployment and high house prices have all been blamed. But many will conclude that the real explanation of the trend is not the hardship of the outside world, but the cosiness of the status quo; that young men don't want to leave home because they're over-indulged mummy's boys.

But we say: do mummy's boys deserve their bad reputation? Yes, they might be useless when it comes to cleaning the oven or preparing a tasty cottage pie. But they're also unlikely to tap parents up for a deposit for a new home. And you will never have to worry about them not calling. As someone else who was evidently skilled at looking on the bright side once put it: "Oedipus, Schmoedipus, what does it matter so long as the boy loves his mother."