Immediately post-college onwards, I always offer, but my parents only let me pay if it is a birthday or a special occasion like that. I do get them restaurant gift cards for Christmas and things like that as well.

I pay for my adult kids. But they like to get me a coffee/treat and will do that sometimes.

My mom still pays if she and I go eat! She won't let me pay. I buy treats like coffee/iced drinks.

Anonymous wrote:I paid proudly when I took them out to dinner on my first visit after getting my first "real" job.

This is so nice.

I’d always pay. You expect college students to pay?

My spouse of 25 years still cringes when my dad grabs the check when the 4 of us go out to eat - he likes to pay for his kids! There are times (birthday dinner for one of our then little kids) when spouse will insist on grabbing it first, because he wants to pay for our kids birthday dinner!

My mother paid pretty much for forever. My sib and I are both professionals, we have plenty of money, it's just what she did. She was the mom, we were the kids.

There were probably some Mother's Day exceptions, birthday dinners, and whatnot in there. But generally we kids never paid.

My parents still pay and I am 48. I will pay for their starbucks sometimes.

We will always pay for our children. My inlaws dramatically insist on separate checks. Not just splitting the check, but an itemized separate check without only their items on it. They wouldn't want to accidentally pay for $3 extra of one of our entrees or incur a portion of a kids meal.

They are worth $20M.

Kids are in their early thirties, no grandkids. We always pay.

I paid for the first time on Sunday because it was Fathers Day and he’s 90. He really doesn’t like it when I pay - he feels like he’s lost something.

Never.

I’m 37 and my parent and in-laws pretty much alway pay. We pay on some rare special occasions when we offer to take the, out.

I used to have to warn DH before going out to dinner with my parents to not argue with my dad about paying. Dad always pays. DH had a hard time accepting that's how my parents want it. His parents were poor and we always paid when we went out with them.

Dad's gone but mom still insists on paying.

I am 44 and it's only from late 30s on that I felt comfortable paying some meals for my parents. When I was younger, I bought them gifts and flowers, but for some reason, food was a parent thing, in my mind. Now you make me think about it, it's when I had kids myself that I started paying for some of my own parents' meals!

My parents (and ILs) always pay. When my grandfather was alive, he would insist to pay and wouldn't let his children or grandchildren pay either. We try to pay for special occasions (bday), but they dont even like that! No one is struggling and we aren't going out for michelin star meals, so I dont think it matters too much overall.