Animal Parents

Penguins don't force their children to fly.

Checkmate, atheists!

Loads of mammals will do that.

Bears, for example.

Hell. Some seals just leave their kids on the ice.

Possums are so smooth brained their kids fall off and mum just keeps the bus rolling. Tasmanian devils, too.

And hippos just forget their kiddos are even there and trample them.

And that’s not even mentioning the crazy shit humans get up to

A boy found the egg laying on a path. He was surrounded by turtles, alligators, and a bunch of other non-bird animals that also lay eggs. But he assumed it was a bird egg, found the nearest bird nest, put it in, and thought he had done a Good Deed.

What a maroon

Not as true as it used to be I don't think. But yes it has that reputation.

18 is when legal parental requirements end, but like … only shitty people do that.

Its prevalence in media belies how little that kind of thing actually happens IMO.

Someone else already replied well, but I wanted to add that we're not entirely homogenous, either. Southern US culture still has multigenerational homes as a normal thing. It isn't the majority, but nobody really bats an eye in the South or Appalachia if you live in a home (or on piece of property with multiple dwellings) with your parents, grandparents, some cousins, an aunt or two, and that dude you brought over to dinner once that moved in at 14 when your parents found out his parents were shitty to him.

And if you don't, everyone belittles you for living in your parents' basement?

In more individualistic countries, that is the case. Living with parents and relatives is common in more family-oriented cultures. Even in Europe, the mostly Catholic countries still have people living with their parents. But for Protestant and individualistic European countries, they will judge you harshly for it.

I have to say though, I find that some people who expect anyone over 25 to even move out are a bit simple minded considering the cost of living crisis. You have to have a good job to afford to move out. It is unrealistic these days for many people to do so because of housing crisis. Heck, even with a good job and good pay, the current expensive economic situation mitigates all those advantages! I had a manager who still lives with her parents. My best friend still lives with his parents as well, long after he turned 18and working for many years now. And the more simple minded individuals expect the old ways to still be applicable, but those same individuals actually don't have savings, unlike people who still live with their parents.

Ideally people should move out of home because it is part of growing up and maturing, but the current exploitative system prevent most of us to fulfill our own potential.

Found the basement dweller.