What would you think if your uncle

@jomsim You must be wealthy. He’d be paying for his own child, as a [b]father[/b] should.

@bijouxbroussard Kind of the opposite. More just dismayed at the break-up of family units in the West. My grandparents and great-grandparents would have taken it for granted that family stick together. My friends from Asia do too. Part of the reason we now expect parents to be solely responsible is because nobody else shoulders any responsibility.

@jomsim We expect parents to be responsible for the children [b]they[/b] produce. There’s nothing wrong with extended family helping out, but at your age, you shouldn’t be expected to support someone else’s child if he can support her financially.

@bijouxbroussard I do see both sides. A grandparent took care of me while both my parents were unable. Today, if parents are unable, children are entrusted to the state and put in a childen's home. My life would be much worse if that had happened and my family hadn't cared for me without being paid to.

Some people might have have to give up their job. It’s compromise-able. @jomsim

@Spoiledbrat Definitely these days when all family members tend to work.

@jomsim In some households that's necessary. And in some cultures both parents have careers.

@bijouxbroussard They do. Certainly in this day and age, and in the countries we're most used to.

@jomsim It's a matter of measure. I have no way to look back to question just how giving, supportive my father was. And I really do not believe it has to come from a parent, directly. He had all those things taken away when he was 6, fostered, and my personal feeling, while it probably hurt him somewhere, he channelled that into love and being a father to his children. Somewhere I doubt he would have developed that in him without that experience which does say something towards the topic.

@SW-User I think this shows how difficult it is to generalise (and maybe that we shouldb't).

@jomsim No, we shouldn't even if trends can be seen.

I was thinking that also, that nowadays both parents work. Whereas my mom stayed home and worked with my dad occasionally and so did my husband’s mom. She did the books for my husband’s dad. Nowadays no one says home and many people have children of their own on top of that. Many children aren’t well behaved either and can be a handful. Lots of families don’t feel responsible for their siblings and their children because they don’t have the resources to and because they’re not close. @jomsim

@jomsim I don't think it's unreasonable for people to be responsible for their own children. That's part of being an adult. I think it's admirable that your uncle plans to support your cousin--his daughter--even while having you take care of her.

@bijouxbroussard I don't think it's unreasonable at all, but it isn't the only option.