How much a social single behaviour can affect the whole economy of a country at large along with every single family income and expenses practices?
This is not about mocking the west blindly or trying to inject some social foreign behaviour in our own society that defies our culture and tradition. It is just a call to pay a closer look and study the effect of adults moving out of their parents houses at the age of 18 on social and economical aspects.
In the west, they live WITH their childrens. Here, we live FOR our children
A previous co-worker who lived for some time in the US said. His words hit home, having to grow up watching my parents struggle to maintain a decent life for me and my siblings while depriving themselves the least portions of entertainment and recreation.
At 29 years old, I am guilty of abusing my parents finance by staying at their house. My younger brother who is 23 years old is doing the so as well. They also still have another 16 years young boy to support through his remaining 2 years at school, 4 years at college, and another maybe around 5-10 years till he becomes independent and start his own family.
Yet starting a new family is not an easy task. I barely save a small chunk of my salary althought I am living with my parents. It would be a different situation if they kicked me out at the age of 18 where I would have learnt what it is like to depend entirely on myself for living.
We are fighting a culture of shame where we are importing workers from other countries to fill vacancies that our youth are resisting to take. Most of it has to do with their comfort of staying in their parents houses and benefiting from their parents income. Our youngsters have a great amount of energy that they don’t know what to do with. You see them hanging around the city with their daddy’s car, or stay late infront of their daddy’s TV till early hours in the morning. A lot don’t even bother to study and do well in their only task in their life at that time of succeeding in college.
I bet that the situation would be different if they had to pay their own expenses of living and college fees. Parents would benefit of the spare expenses to live a better life themselves. Having 3 children in average and having to support them till their late 20’s does eat from the quality of life of parents in Jordan where they don’t have to take this far because people can take care of themselves at the age of 18.
This habit of keeping children at home till they get married does also eat from equal chances. Rich people don’t have a problem sending their children to the best universities and then finding them the best jobs while benefitting in return with a stronger hold on their children’s lives. In the other hand, poorer people find themsevles struggle to maintain the daily expenses of their children at college then keep on supporting them till they find a decent job that usually doesn’t pay much.
Economy at large can benefit from the energy of youngsters. Imported workers would decrease. Shame culture would disappear. We would find less maniac drivers. Less youth problems. More independence for youngsters. Taking better responsibilities for youngsters. Better lives for parents.
Change is hard, and parents should learn that they are no abandoning their kids this way. It is just a mean to teach them how to live, and be able to live better themselves.
Fadi Zaghmout فادي زغموت 
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