Some of the sentiment hits home for me, although its something I've been well aware of for a few years now and an issue I've tried to address with my wife. The comment, "Our parents were not responsible for entertaining us" sums it up for me. My childhood memories are of my parents enjoying their lives, and bringing us along for the ride. In my life, and those of most all of my friends, our weekends, vacations and most all of our free time is dictated by our kids. One minor example - although I played sports most all of my youth, I'm pretty certain my parents never attended one single practice, and likely missed many of the games. I have friends who attend practices with their kids several days a week, year round. One friend has two boys, and has year round games every single weekend - many involving long drives and overnights. Summer for my kids is a constant barrage of activities, day camps, etc. - in each case something we researched, paid for and drove them to. We feel responsible for entertaining and stimulating our kids constantly. That's our job, not theirs. I hate it honestly, but don't see a good solution. Its just the way we live now.