This opinion piece was written by a disillusioned 27 year old who badly needs some privacy and struggles to please both his parents and his wife.
Parents in this country believe that filial piety entails their children having to stay with them until death do us part.
Any thoughts of children wanting to live on their own will be considered treason and a disgrace to the family.
Some are even worse.. even after marriage, parents are disapproving of their children living on their own and having their own personal private space.
This is unlike children in Western countries where upon reaching adulthood, they will find means and ways to move out and live on their own terms. Even for those struggling to make ends meet, they will find their own means to affording an independent living.
This is not even about money or the affordability to financially take care of your aged parents, I dare say many parents in Singapore, expect their children to take physical care of them in their old age, to repay the debt of having raised them from babies.
But if we hold on a minute, do we realize it is the adults who decided to have children, so why is this considered a debt? Every child should have the right to decide how they wish to live their lives instead of having to walk around with the yoke of filial piety for decades.
