Because you quite simply aren't paying 'proper' rent. You are getting a subsidized figure because if you weren't you would have flown the nest years ago. This subsidized figure to some twisted individuals like me could be seen as a 'gift'. At the end of the day your parents are doing you a favour. Mark's doing his daughter a favour
Firstly you have no idea how much I pay and what my personal circumstances are - the reason I live here is not financial. What I will say is that if I decided to rent a room in a house elsewhere, I suspect my outgoings wouldn't change significantly.
Secondly I'm not 'complaining' about what Mark does. It's his life, it's his children, he is free to do thus as he pleases. I was simply offering an alternative opinion after you gave the impression you thought it was an 'either buy kids everything or buy kids nothing' situation. It is my personal beleif that it's important that people understand the value of things and what things are worth - and its my personal opinion that this is better done by making them contribute towards the purchase of an item rather than simply buying it for them multiple times each year.
Thirdly if you cannot see the difference between being purchased a tangiable product and paying to live in the family home then like some others in this thread I am left simply confused at your opinions.

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