Yeah, tell me about it. The clothes my parents paid for, they got to pick out. The clothes I paid for, I got to pick out. A $1.25 allowance a week so we could have a drink with the lunches we packed at home? Get real, my mom only bought braunshweigger (or however it's spelled - I try to block it from my memory). Geez, where'd these people come from? You'd think my parents grew up in the depression or during World War II or ... oh, yeah, I guess that explains it.
Anyway, suffice it to say, the kids in my family got part time jobs pretty early.
Sounds tough. A lot of American teenagers are into getting jobs at age 16, having allowances and having to pay their parents back for some larger expenses.
A lot of Chinese kids are spoiled. I've talked to quite a few kids that moved from Hong Kong. There parents will just buy them a new Porsche Boxster or BMW just like that. If you think that's not possible, head to Richmond, British Columbia. It's a city full of people from Hong Kong, and you'll definitely spot a 16-20 year old driving in a Lexus, BMW, Benz etc. I doubt Chinese kids spend as much money on clothing or food as American kids do though. They are rarely ever pressured into getting jobs early. Of course, I'm talking about Chinese kids in Canada, the only ones I've talked to.
Besides, childhood is so short. Do people really have to burden their children with allowances, force them mow the lawn for $5 so they can save for that next video game or making them pay for half the cost of the CD player they want?
They'll have more than enough time to worry about money in adulthood. Let them enjoy their childhood, free from financial burden. They'll probably be a lot happier.
Where the heck do you people eat??
At home, side-walk cafes, sandwich/soup shops. I rarely ever eat McDonalds /BK/Wendy's anymore. Can't stand that crap.
Aren't you worried that letting your daughter consume so much will make her prone to putting herself in debt when living on her own?
Debt or bad credit doesn't seem to be anything unfamiliar for Americans. Like Jay Leno said, two favorite hobbies of Americans are getting fat and getting into debt.
The more you do something, the more prone you become to HAVE to do it.
They'll have to stop eventually when their credit gets ruined or they have to declare bankruptcy.
My little sister's ex boyfriend is an unemployed astrophysicist. He delivers pizza for a living. Both of his parents are professors at a large University. So their combined incomes make them very comfortable. It's really a shame though that there is not more money in the sciences.
One of my ex-boyfriends had a Ph.D in Biochemistry and only made $45,000/year. He'll probably never make more than $60,000. This just isn't right.
$45,000 for researching against AIDs.
While, over in the NHL, guys get millions for playing a game. Yet, they still complain, demand more money, and strike.
That just isn't right.
