| I guess I'm in the demographic the article was written for, although my kids and I are a good decade too young to be the parents while also too old to be the children. I read the whole thing and I didn't see where it specified it was advice for working class America. I specifically did a text search on some common words and phrases and still don't see where its being mistargeted. Have to take your word for it, I guess. I didn't think it would be terribly difficult to switch gears, for example I'm so old we didn't have "Advanced Placement" classes we had an equally trendy older name for the same concept. Likewise as a kid I got worn out yard sale bicycles and an infinite supply of parts and toolbox access. Same general idea. Or both myself and my kids are expected to upgrade desktop computers not cars, although I have no driving age kids (barely, yet) There are indications that the story is completely imaginary. I never had any trouble affording an old beater of a car as a teen, the absolutely killer expense is insurance, and now that most "teen kid jobs" have been taken over by illegal alien laborers I'm not sure how anyone, parent or teen, could handle the immense cost of automobile insurance for a teen boy. Likewise you can harumpf and preach all you want about who should pay for what part of school, but financial aid forms used to assume a certain $$$ from the parents and if you didn't get that $$$ you simply didn't go to college, it really is that simple. I had Army GI Bill money, whatever, but most people don't have many options. Another false aspect is the peculiar sleep schedule of 10-5, that just doesn't sound realistic. Maybe the author was thinking of older teens going on dates rather than little kids. Little kids sleep like 10 hours per day, and their pediatrician thinks nothing is wrong about that. Paying for weddings also sounds weird, even assuming its a boomer. Everyone in my cohort got married well after leaving the nest and having whatever passes for a career started. It must be very awkward for a older singles to ask mom for money to get married. The days of everyone got married at 18 or 22 seem like WWII generation or even older. The $250K wedding seems very nouveau riche and not really culturally acceptable outside hollywood movie sitcoms, although I suppose it depends where (and when) you live. Generally if it costs more than the divorce will, you're probably living in a hollywood movie. Yet there are indications the story was written by an actual parent. The old trick of providing the false choice is probably as old as parenting. |