As my Father told me fifty years ago when I was a whining 13 Year Old who had to work at his Business in order to get an allowance, “nobody owes you a living, so shut up and get back to work”.
Difficult for me to think that in today’s world he would be accused of child abuse if he were overheard saying that to his 13 Year Old Son in Public.
You had a wonderful Dad!
When I was 5, I asked my Grandfather for a dime to go to the store with for candy. He looked at me and said when he was a kid, if someone wanted something, he had to do something useful, like maybe sweep the driveway. Then he went back to reading his magazine. I took the hint and went out and swept the driveway. He smiled as he gave me the dime.
I know what you mean. If any parent today were to ALLOW his son to do what my father EXPECTED of my older brother and me long before the age of thirteen his son would be taken away and put in foster care. I thought at the time that I was being cruelly treated but now I am able to do a lot of things that I would not otherwise have learned.