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Zero is the norm in Germany, and I appreciate it that way. Other than providing housing until I moved out at 19 shortly after finishing high school, I got no monetary support from family.
Plenty of good advice, assistance with where and how to apply for grants, actual help on how to conduct research during uni, helping carry stuff when I moved houses, helping to draft my first cv and cover letters, and moral support and whatnot, sure.
But money? Other than maybe sending me 200 Euro for my birthday or ordering pizza when I visited, nothing, and I wouldn't have it any other way. Nothing prepares people more for adulthood than being responsible, and at the same time not feeling you have to pay back.
I guess I grew up in a different bubble in Germany, as almost everyone I knew at university did get some financial support from their parents. Bafög was never enough to cover rent etc and jobs for students were in short supply, so it was pretty much necessary. Not to mention that you get less Bafög the more money your parents make, so even the state expects parents to provide financial support if they have the means.
Agreed, I don't know what the other commenter is talking about. Apparently we live in completely different bubbles. In my experience, it's the norm to receive at least some support by the parents through university or young adulthood. Not only that, parents are legally required to support their children until they have finished their education, which includes university or vocational training (it's a bit more complicated than that, age plays a role and whether you drop out and start again, but the point still stands).
Many people I know lived with their parents, temporarily or completely, well after 20. Some got cars from their family, some got furniture or appliances.
I'm shocked by most of the comments in this thread and the commenter is about the only person I can relate to. After living in a few countries and jumping around income levels a bit then I think the commenter grew up in a low economic class and most of the commenters come from a more privileged economic class.
Like, read some of these comments again and imagine you're a parent with no money, you'd feel like a piece of shit if these comments were some sort of universal truth. Some people will say you shouldn't bring anyone up in the world if you're in that position but that has a really quick logical flaw: Think about your parents, then their parents, and eventually you'll find someone that "shouldn't have had children" and that basically means either the human race doesn't exist or the right to have children is only deserved to the privileged.
I know that I grew up in a very privileged bubble and I get that not everyone is in a position to financially support their children through university (the inadequate support through Bafög, mentioned in other comments here, in Germany is a whole other topic).
My point is more that almost every family I know, even the less privileged ones, did what they could to help their children. Even if there is not much you can give that's the complete opposite of cutting them off as soon as they finish school.
Yeah, after scanning more I liked this comment:
https://lemmy.world/comment/20129966
I just think some of the comments have "to the extent they're able" being very privileged economically in a way that can also put down a lot of people less well off.
I'm not sure I completely agree that out by 18 is cutting them off completely. That said, I chose to leave when I was 17 (for university somewhere else on government assistance) and my younger brother became a live at home alcoholic that would get our younger siblings drunk on school nights and cause other issues... so I probably have an unconventional interpretation.
What is Bafög?
Something like a state scholarship, but everyone whose parents don't make a lot of money qualify. You have to pay some of it back, but only half or 10k, whatever is lower, and with zero interest and only after you make more than a certain amount. It is, unfortunately, oftentimes not enough to live in more expensive cities like Munich, Hamburg and these days, Berlin.
It's basically a financial support programme by the government for students. Students get some money each month, half of which is an interest-free loan and the other half a grant. It can be up to about 1000€ monthly, but if you have wealthy parents it can also be 0€.
It is part of a system where everyone gets a xhance to study. If your partents can't afford to pay for you tongo to university then the state will pay out bafög as described by another comment. If you request Bafög but your parrents make enough money to put you through uni the state will force the parrents to pay, or at least to pay back the state for the Bafög it gives to the kid.
As a Norwegian i fully support zero. However, I think it depends a lot on the society you live in. Ideally the child learns how to fend for themselves, but if it meant a high probability of serious complications maybe no. For example if breaking a leg puts you into life altering debt
As an American, the idea of cutting kids off at 18, demand that they figure out how to pay their own $15k/year college tuition, 20k rent, and (obviously) forego healthcare, with at best entry-level job skills, feels like child abuse.
So much this. We’re paying for our son’s tuition, car, car insurance and health insurance while he lives with us and goes to culinary school. After he graduates, we will wean him off as he gets a job. He will remain on our health insurance until 26.
Danish person here, I reckon it also helps a lot that our education is free in the Nordics, and public transport is so good we don't need to be given a car.
Yah, there are both cultural and societal elements to be considered. In US, the socialized safety net is basically nonexistent, while in Norway, Denmark and Germany (countries from other comments), it’s doing very well. Thus both mean that you can achieve different things with different levels of struggle and that “failure” has a very different meaning.
There is also the component of what the parents can offer. If economic support would be of little help, of social change the landscape, if they are able to do it, and so forth. A first gen college student will not get much useful advice from their parents, a second gen could get really useful guidance.
Legally german parents have to support their children till 27
Only if they are unable to care for themselves and do not qualify for subsidies/grants.
It's not free in every region, but it's still practically free when compared to some countries