> it's more millenials are reaching the age where they understand the whole "it takes a village" folk wisdom
Boy, if it takes until your 30s to understand that "wisdom", then I weep for my contemporaries. In strong nuclear families with inter-generational ties, it shouldn't take longer than your late teens to realize that parental support is normal at least until you have kids of your own.
Having strong ties to your grandparents and parents should be the norm, and I'm very sorry for the Americans that haven't had the peace of mind from having a safety net of their extended families throughout their whole lives. This isn't meant to sound patronizing. Child rearing is one of the most labor intensive activities we have as a species and I for one will be taking all the help I can get.
> That parent comment is amazing in it’s own sense: how delusional do you have to be to think that what you have there is the norm?
It is the norm. Not having multi-generational family support is a major handicap, but that predicament is not the norm, even among less advantaged people generally.
I know my situation is not the norm and personal experience isn't the best indicator, but I personally know more people with incomplete families and no multi-generational support than those that do. This has also only increased as i've gotten older. Whether it's through death, divorce or distance, estrangement.
I realize my original comment probably doesn't speak for the majority of people's situations, but I think it's not necessarily as much of a norm as people think. I don't disagree with the parent poster, they're right, it should be the norm, I was raised in a family with strong family values but circumstances just kind of made it an impossibility and I think a lot of people and families out there, may not have the same circumstances as my life, but have had things happen that make it difficult or impossible to have close family ties.
Boy, if it takes until your 30s to understand that "wisdom", then I weep for my contemporaries. In strong nuclear families with inter-generational ties, it shouldn't take longer than your late teens to realize that parental support is normal at least until you have kids of your own.
Having strong ties to your grandparents and parents should be the norm, and I'm very sorry for the Americans that haven't had the peace of mind from having a safety net of their extended families throughout their whole lives. This isn't meant to sound patronizing. Child rearing is one of the most labor intensive activities we have as a species and I for one will be taking all the help I can get.