Do Millennials get financial responsibility? Your Say

Young adults are three times more likely to say they got a lot of financial help from their parents when starting out, compared with what their parents got, a survey finds. Comments from Facebook:

I don't think it's tougher starting out today. Many young people expect to attain "things" more quickly than past generations. They want the nice car, home and job now instead of saving and waiting as those before them did. Parents are stifling their children's growth by continuing to support them. This will have a negative impact on them in the long run.

— Cynthia Ivers

I see mature adults attacking my entire generation as losers. Things are hard even for the responsible Millennials who don't walk around drinking Starbucks every day and buying cigarettes. There's definitely a challenge on our hands different from our parents' experience. I'm thankful I grew up quickly and am now living on my own, independent from my parents. It was a tough journey to earn the ability to do that.

— Chelsea Ann Bradley

Four in 10 Millennials are receiving help from mom and dad, the survey reports. It beats working and extends the apron strings, so everyone is happy.

— Tom Griebe

A big problem with my generation is the fact that many were handed a lot in life. They didn't have to go out and earn things for themselves. They learned that if they couldn't do it, then not to worry, because their parents would step in to take care of them. Members of my generation — many, not all — have lost the basic premise of personal responsibility and working hard to gain what they want.

— Tim Austin

Conditions for children now and back then aren't even comparable. Everything costs more now: schooling, insurance, amenities, automobiles and housing.

— Nick Mordowanec

Letter to the editor:

I am of a generation born in the early 1930s that saw some rough times, and many of us made it without a handout from parents ("Millennials lean more on parents (but please don't call it mooching)").

My early adulthood days were spent worrying about the Selective Service System requirements (the draft). The years I spent as a sailor shaped my life because the experience taught respect for authority, discipline, attention to duty, and task satisfaction when a job was well done.

I would have given anything for my son to have had two years of military training. This would have shaped his attitude to be self-reliant.

Now he relies on an 83-year-old father to bail him out. The draft with two years of active duty makes a more responsible citizen. Bring it back!

Herb Jones; Shalimar, Fla.