I know why you ask this question, as I know the differences between our cultures.
Here in America, historically once a person reaches 18, there is a social expectation that they either join the work force or go to college or join the miltary. Anything but sit around at home, and the goal of the young person should be to leave the parent's nest as soon as possible.
This is in contrast to the philippines, where, mostly what I witnessed was that families stick closer together. Young adults aren't pressured to leave the house. My 24 y/o brother in law in the Philippines (plus his wife and 2 kids) lives at home with his parents, and on a more or less permanent basis - no plans to leave, and this is "normal" as I take it. What I noticed there is that it seems one or two members of a given family, whether father, daughter, son, or mother, or other, seem to fall into the calling of "hero." They will go overseas or to a very demanding local job and sacrifice everything for the family, meanwhile the rest of the family reaps the benefits and doesn't expend much effort to supplement the hero's income. And this is also considered normal. The hero does not feel taken advantage of, and the family does not feel as if they are taking advantage of the hero. My brother in law and his family, are supported entirely by my wife's parents, who are supported by their other son-in-law. He doesn't work. That is not the way things are here in America. It is common for parents here to pay for college, but other than that, it is historically expected that the young adult pay their own way.
Things change, and we are witnessing a shift slightly away from that. As others have mentioned, our kids are becoming more "spoiled," but at the same time, life is getting harder. There are less options for some young people than what existed for their parents. I am 27 and currently live with my parents (along with my wife and 2 kids), but my situation is fairly unique. I haven't sat around for the past 9 years playing x-box. I did leave home at 18, and stayed gone for almost a decade. It wasn't until I got married and had kids that I started having problems. Financial problem, etc. I was having to neglect my family in order to be able to support them with no college degree. My parents offered to shelter me and my family while I go back to school. With much embarrassment, I accepted their offer. I feel very belittled living here, and emasculated that I am not able to take care of my family alone. I often think that maybe this is the reason for the things I see in the Philippines. As the economy gets worse, and stories like mine become more common, I start to understand the system as it operates there where you live. Maybe we will operate as you do in the coming years.
