At 18 I attended a sandwich course with alternate periods of employment and study. I had to save up half of my salary from my "working" periods in order to pay my mother the same money as when I was working full time. That was the only reason I was allowed to enrol on the course.
Her favorite mantra was "You cant keep a family on one man's wage".
This was back in the 1960s. In fact most of the money I gave my mother for my "keep" went straight onto my sisters back to provide her with crisp new school uniforms, My school uniforms had been from the second hand market and looked it. I worked part time in the local chip shop during my "study" periods for a bit of extra cash.
When I hear of adult children being allowed to doss about the home and pay nothing for their keep I think of how strict my parents were. I chose never to have children. If I had I would have brought them up "hard" and made them pay their way as I did.
When I finally left home age 22 I knew how to budget for all the basic expenses of living independently. I also remember the incredulous look on my mothers face when I told her I was moving out the following week. It was priceless!
Harry and Meghan ‘royal’ tour of Nigeria.
Good Morning Monday 29th April 2024