'Our Parents Should Pay for Vacations'

Exclusive polling for Newsweek has revealed that 50 percent of millennials believe their parents should pay for them to go on family vacations.

The millennial generation, currently aged 27-42, is often characterized as technology-driven, entrepreneurial and inclusive. Many have had to contend with a huge amount of debt and financial challenges in adulthood, and are known to delay significant milestones, including marriage, home ownership and having children, compared to those born before them.

Adults in this age group tend to value experiences over material possessions, and industries like travel, entertainment and dining have blossomed amid a surge in interest from adults in this generation.

But marrying financial hardship and a love of experiences can be tough. And with the generations above them, particularly baby boomers aged 59+ holding much of the wealth, it is easy to understand why adults may still rely on their parents financially.

In a poll for Newsweek by Redfield & Wilton Strategies, 1,500 American adults were asked if parents should pay for adult children's vacations when traveling as a family.

In the responses, millennials were decidedly split, with 26 percent strongly agreeing that their parents should foot the bill and a further 24 percent saying that they agreed. Of the remaining responses, 21 percent in total disagreed, 22 percent said neither agree nor disagree, and 6 percent replied don't know.

'We Couldn't Have Afforded to Go Otherwise'

Katie Roberton, a self-employed ceramicist who runs her own business, Outlandish Creations, told Newsweek that her parents paid for her and her son to go on vacation with them.

"We couldn't have afforded to go otherwise," Roberton told Newsweek. "We went to the South of France, and I imagined they would pay or else we would not have been able to go."

Who foots the bill on family vacations is a frequent topic of discussion, like the woman who was furious when her parents left her out of the family's annual all-expenses-paid vacation.

"They know my circumstances, as [my] business is not as successful as I'd hoped, so if they asked us somewhere I would expect them to pay," said Roberton. She's thankful for the experience offered to her and her son by her parents.

"I think if you have that kind of relationship with your family it is lovely if they want to spend time with you and have the finances to afford to pay for you too," she said. "What goes around comes around. I keep joking that my son can take me places and wheel me around when I am older. If I could afford it, I'd take my boy lots of places."

A recent TikTok trend has seen Millennials filming their parents miming to ABBA hit "Money, Money, Money" on vacation as they admit that their mom or dad paid for the whole thing.

"I work all night/I work all day/to pay this bills/I have to pay," mimes an apathetic-looking father in one video as the camera pans to his adult kids drinking cocktails by the pool.

While some commenters didn't understand, more seemed to relate to the idea of their parents paying for their vacation.

"Too relatable," said one commenter on one of the viral videos, while another said: "This is like my older sister and me with our dad."

Others shared how they hoped that they would be able to do the same for their own children in the future. "I hope I can do this for my daughter all her life," said one TikTok user. Another agreed and said: "Me as a future parent! I'll spoil my babies 'til I die."

But not all adults agree. Sonya Barlow is an entrepreneur, author and a BBC presenter who often goes on vacation with her mom—but would never expect her to foot the bill.

"If anything, my parents have raised us to be independent and loving, which is a common trait of those from South Asian families," Barlow told Newsweek. "Generally, South Asians are raised knowing that they will look after their parents as they get older and where possible, support them and give back for the good raising.

"This isn't something we take for granted and also it's not forced upon us, it's a beautiful part of our culture, which as I get older I appreciate and love even more," she said.

Barlow explained that she understands everyone's financial situation is different, but feels that the majority of people should be paying their own way.

"If you're a grown person with financial resources and you're expecting your parents to pay—unless they're mega-millionaires and can afford to—I don't fully understand the sentiment, though I can respect it," she said. "One reason I work super hard is so that I can spend it on my family. And I think that's a driver."

'It Depends on and Changes With Circumstances'

Father and son Chris and James Bore run a family training and consultancy company and often go on vacations together. They explained that who pays for vacations is all dependent on the circumstances.

"I don't think there has ever been an expectation in our family as to who would pay for what, holidays included," Chris told Newsweek. "It depends on and changes with circumstances. For example, when we were earning a lot and our children weren't, we would invite them to holiday with us at our expense—as in fact did both [my wife] Sarah's and my parents with us—because we wanted them to share our holiday and be with us but knew it would be hard for them to afford it."

But today, the situation is reversed, and James often pays for his mother and father to vacation with the family instead.

"With Sarah and I both retired and cautious in our everyday spending, it tends to be our children who invite us to go with them on holidays that we might otherwise decide to avoid," Chris said.

"I'd never expect anyone else to pay, and occasionally after a windfall or for a special occasion I've paid for a family holiday," said James. "Other times my parents have. During the actual holiday people usually pay their own way, with occasional treats where someone will pay for a meal or an activity they particularly want everyone to enjoy."