GROWING UP IS NOT THAT HARD TO DO

When Lena Dunham’s Girls character glared at her parents after they announced they were financially cutting her off only two years after she graduated arts college, I could relate. The world of millennials is much different than that of their parents: housing prices have inflated to unfathomable heights, unpaid internships are the norm and Apple releases a new iPhone every week. Last year, the Canadian University Survey Consortium found graduating university students had on average $26,819 debt. With entry-level salaries at under $35,000, it’s easy to see why mom and dad hear desperate calls for help.

But at what point is it time to cut the cord and distance yourself from your parents’ cash?

Before your career takes off, you should struggle. Is it fun to live off boxed pasta and forego little luxuries like Kombucha? No. But it’s necessary. Understanding how hard money is to come by instills the work ethic needed to succeed, and makes you a more financially responsible – and respected – human being. Sure, life is hella expensive. If you’re a hardworking young adult who needs a wee loan to sometimes cover car insurance, that’s justifiable. But when it comes to kids who refuse to wait tables as they wait for their dream job, you, my spoiled friends, need to be cut off. If you’re unwilling to do whatever you can to get by, parents who bankroll your lifestyle are not doing you any favours. In fact, they’re enabling a delusional sense of entitlement.

While parents may downplay the amount of support they give their 26-year-old manchild, research shows many baby boomers are footing bills. A 2013 Harris Interactive survey found more than two in five parents with kids aged between 18 to 35 still pay for their cellphones, and 29 per cent continue to do so even after their kids move out of home.

So if you can afford to live without draining your parents’ savings, please do so — our generation needs to be recognized for our work ethic, not pop cultural references.

If you’re too embarrassed to admit that each emoji you send has been made possible through the generous donation of ma and pa, it may be time to pay your own phone bill.