A curious question about the foreign custom

go dutch
@youless (113044)
Guangzhou, China
May 11, 2016 10:25am CST
It seems that the foreigner family will go dutch when they have a meal together. Namely the parents and their adult children will split the bill after a meal. Is it true? It is hard to believe here. It is common that the children pay for it, unless the children are not adults and don't have income yet.
3 people like this
5 responses
Just an Ordinary Owl?
@owlwings (43902)
• Cambridge, England
11 May 16
Yes, it's quite common because, once the children have left home and have their own income, it may be about the same as their parents' income, even if the parents are retired. Actually, who pays for a meal depends very much on who invited whom to eat out.
4 people like this
Just an Ordinary Owl?
@owlwings (43902)
• Cambridge, England
12 May 16
@youless Parents don't stop being parents when their children leave home and have their own income! Perhaps paying for a meal occasionally (or sharing the cost) is symbolic of that. As parents, we hope, of course, that our children and grandchildren will care for us in our old age and when we become short of money but, in the West, there is not the strong tradition of 'duty'.
2 people like this
youless
@youless (113044)
• Guangzhou, China
12 May 16
It is just a little strange for us that parents pay for it.
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Lee Ka
@kaka135 (14954)
• Malaysia
11 May 16
I guess our culture here is like yours as well. I started to pay for my parents when I came out to work. If we are going out as a family, one of the working siblings will just pay. As a family, we do not split the bill. But sometimes my parents insists on paying for me, as they know I am not working full time and do not have enough income.
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youless
@youless (113044)
• Guangzhou, China
12 May 16
Asian families are very similar with each other.
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Shavkat
@Shavkat (140438)
• Philippines
11 May 16
I think it is not always the case for Asian family. For foreign countries, I am not sure having Dutch with parents and children. It would be more common with friends or colleagues.
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youless
@youless (113044)
• Guangzhou, China
11 May 16
You are right.
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Shiva
@Shiva49 (27156)
• Singapore
11 May 16
I know about going dutch but not between parents and children - siva
3 people like this
youless
@youless (113044)
• Guangzhou, China
11 May 16
It is common to split the bill among friends but I wonder whether it is the same for parents and children.
2 people like this
Piyali Sarkar
@Nishkriti (132)
• Kolkata, India
16 May 16
People here go dutch with friends or colleagues but never with parents. Earning children tend to pay for the meal and not exactly as a duty or something. It's just the way it is.