To provide another view: I rarely had chores (other than generally to keep a basic level of cleanliness) and didn't get an allowance. My parents were divorced,

To provide another view: I rarely had chores (other than generally to keep a basic level of cleanliness) and didn't get an allowance. My parents were divorced, so this kind of "family life" is pretty foreign to me, but I never minded. I trained myself early to live without needing much. By high school my mother realized that flimsy "you must work on x between 6-8" rules just weren't going to work on me as I'd simply refuse to do it. I coasted through school explicitly doing the bare minimum. My mother yelled at me and tried every kind of punishment possible for my bad grades, but it went in one ear and out the other. I never did "community service" except the 25 required hours, and left cross country after sophomore year. I never complained about food. I spent most of that extra time learning how to program. I had no idea it was profitable; I started because I wanted to cheat in online MMORPGs. By the time I was 18, I'd been programming for seven years, and knew enough web stuff to skip college and start contracting. Today I'm 21 and have a job that pays six figures. I realize CS is anomalously profitable, but I think that growing up in the sort of family described in the article, the kind that makes you do arbitrary character-building exercises, the kind that believes in heavy socialization, would've not only been horribly painful for me but stifled my economic potential. I personally think extracurriculars as a teenager are a waste of time, because they're always going to be a stunted, baby version set up for you by adults. It's a much better plan to gain financial independence, after which you can do literally anything you want. Also, giving back to the world is honestly just not high on my list. I just don't think about it. I mean, I think about possibly doing a startup someday, but that's mostly from the perspective of the world having lots of problems that need solving, not some kind of good feeling about giving back to society, which is nice but not really a big motivator. I still don't understand why it's supposed to be indicative that someone has been raised well. I will say that I strongly agree with the article about standing back and letting kids make and learn from mistakes; and making rules that are consistent.