A lot of this "entitlement" is a result of the breakdown of the marriage and not always those that end in divorce. The parents aren't on the same page on how to raise their children. I have several friends that are married, but the wives have declared that the son doesn't have to follow in the same footsteps of the father in their upbringing. The sons don't have to experience working in the yard, help cut firewood, bale hay, any chores, etc. They don't have to work and are given anything they desire. Often these fathers want their sons to experience hiking, hunting, or fishing, and the son says no thanks and the moms back the son up. Sometimes those boys need to get up at 4:00 am and experience the outdoors, even if just once.

As a divorced father(more than once) and a step-father(more than once), I've seen the mom go to the extreme to allow the child to do anything or get anything they want(to gain favor from the child) while the divorced father hopelessly tries to "parent" the child from a distance. Tough times.

My son is a good kid, almost 21 and lives with me at home while attending college(top student) and working nearly full-time. He pays for his own car insurance and bought his own car and has his own spending money. I pay his tuition and obviously his room and board. He helps out around the house(not as much as I would like, but he does help). It balances out okay............and he enjoys fishing with me, too.

There has to be a contribution by both the child and parent. I didn't want him to go at life completely on his own like I did. When I went to college my father flipped me a quarter and said "don't use it to call home and ask for money". I put myself through college.