One aspect of American culture is a great belief in independence, a self-reliance. Children are encouraged to be independent. Many children are given what American call a "weekly allowance" and are inspired to have part-time jobs at young age: for boys, newspaper routes, and for girls, baby-sitting. Parents often encourage their children to open bank accounts, and some high school and college students have their own credit cards.

Although American families stress independence, American is also a youth-oriented nation. In American, a great deal of public attention is paid to children. In many American families, husband and wife will  1  up their own plans to go to a vacation  2  in order to please their children by choosing amusement parks like Disney World and Disneyland. The toy industry in America is large and growing rapidly. Americans buy expensive toys for their children. For an American family, Christmas, Easter, and child's birthday are major events. All of these holidays  3  on the children. Many American couples form friendships based upon their children are friends. For instance, two couples often become friends because their children are friends. Television shows on Saturday morning are  4  to children, and a lot of advertising is aimed  5  children.