The very idea of an allowance for kids would be considered a joke over a very large part of the world. Children are expected to make themselves useful, as soon as they can walk. They are sent to work as soon as they are old enough and what money they earn is added to the family coffers. If they are lucky the only allowance they may expect will be time off to attend school, so that their earning power may be increased.
Another sort of allowance for children in other parts of the world could be termed, the 'get out' allowance. With a muttered imprecation a parent will fling notes towards his child, and expect him to leave so that his parents can get on, in their small house, with drink, or drugs, or sex, or worst of all, TV soap operas.
Yet another instance is the rich kid, who thinks his allowance is his due. Such kids can be found still playing with expensive toys at the age of forty-five or even older. They would be incensed at any infringement on what they think is their entitlement.
In the not so distant past people like this sometimes got themselves entangled with gambling debts or pretty servant girls. Disgraced, they were sent to the colonies and regarded with suspicion there because they did not have to work.
Most 'remittance men' spent their time shooting animals and drinking, but some started sugar or cotton estates and established respectable dynasties. They can still be seen, staring at cameras as if to ask who the devil would question their right to a monthly pay off.
Such are the extremes, but between there are the bourgeoisie. These professional or sensible people, wherever they live, calculate how much their child will need at various stages of life. Then, as part of their parental obligation they pay a monthly stipend that will cover costs and leave a little over for saving. They might expect some light duties in exchange, but they will hold their child accountable in one way or another.
Like stars in the night sky these people provide light in a dark world. Their lives are ordered and sensible. Allowances for kids is part of their approach to life that makes them sensible and successful.
Another sort of allowance for children in other parts of the world could be termed, the 'get out' allowance. With a muttered imprecation a parent will fling notes towards his child, and expect him to leave so that his parents can get on, in their small house, with drink, or drugs, or sex, or worst of all, TV soap operas.
Yet another instance is the rich kid, who thinks his allowance is his due. Such kids can be found still playing with expensive toys at the age of forty-five or even older. They would be incensed at any infringement on what they think is their entitlement.
In the not so distant past people like this sometimes got themselves entangled with gambling debts or pretty servant girls. Disgraced, they were sent to the colonies and regarded with suspicion there because they did not have to work.
Most 'remittance men' spent their time shooting animals and drinking, but some started sugar or cotton estates and established respectable dynasties. They can still be seen, staring at cameras as if to ask who the devil would question their right to a monthly pay off.
Such are the extremes, but between there are the bourgeoisie. These professional or sensible people, wherever they live, calculate how much their child will need at various stages of life. Then, as part of their parental obligation they pay a monthly stipend that will cover costs and leave a little over for saving. They might expect some light duties in exchange, but they will hold their child accountable in one way or another.
Like stars in the night sky these people provide light in a dark world. Their lives are ordered and sensible. Allowances for kids is part of their approach to life that makes them sensible and successful.