

Workaholism in America: A European's perspective - yason
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/tijana-milosevic/workaholism-america-europe_b_805975.html

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kls
_American parents are not perceived to provide enough financial and emotional
support for their children_

This reality is unfortunately very true in the US. My mother used to joke
about the fact that our 18th birthday would consist of a moving trucks as a
present. While it was a tongue in cheek joke there was without a doubt a grain
of truth to her attitude. Fortunately for me, my grandparents took me in long
before that. They came from a different culture than my mother. I am from the
US south and the old southerners have a distinctly different culture than that
of the rest of the us. There was a lot more French and Spanish influence in
the south and up until my grandparents generation that culture was the norm.
Anyways, not to side track too much into the distinct cultures of the US or
the loss of those cultures, but my point is my grandparents came from a
culture in which it was normal for a child to live and help around the home
until the time that they where on stable footing to go out into the world.
Usually there was a gift of land or some other property that would help the
child start to make their way in the world. All of my grandfathers siblings
got a portion of the homestead when they became of age from my Great-
Grandfather. That was pretty much the norm in the American south up until
around the 1940's. While I did not receive a gift of land, I did receive the
gift of time. My grandparents allowed me to live with them and supported me
while I pursued ventures to that would help me make it in the world. On the
final venture they purchased a computer for me and the rest was history. Had I
been forced out at 18 who knows where I would have ended up I certainly know
that I would not enjoy the quality of life I do know. For that I am eternally
grateful to them. I plan to do the same for my children, I always talk to them
about ways to make money and be your own boss. Better yet I serve as an
example to them. I plan to make sure that before any one of my kids leaves
home that they have a functional and profitable venture to call their own.
That is the greatest gift you can ever give to your children, the gift of time
to discover one's self.

The thing to remember is that not only is their a cultural element to this but
there is also an economic element to this. I have read several studies that
state while the American quality of life measured on the indicators of food
availability and health care has significantly improved, the real wealth of
the average US citizen has declined. So some of this cultural element seems to
be born out of necessity.

