<p>What are examples of providing significant support? My friend is a single mother, and her daughter was planning on answering this question by saying that she babysits her sister after school and grocery shops for the family. The thing is...I think most kids do stuff like that...I know my own S does both of those things...and so I don't consider them "significant". I thought "significant" meant caring for an ill relative, or providing income for the family's needs.</p>
<p>What do you all think?</p>
<p>I completely agree with you. Babysitting siblings and helping out with chores is part of normal family life. I think it will give a negative impression to the reader if she appears to consider that ‘significant support’. My thought when I saw your thread title was that it would be about a kid working as well as going to school to help financially support (in a significant way)the family or helping care for a seriously ill parent. Something the majority of Students do not have to do.</p>
<p>I agree with you, RTR. To me, “significant support” is something far more than the normal chores/responsibilities that family members share. My children also watched younger siblings after school (and chauffeured them around after they got their driver’s license), shopped and ran errands, etc. </p>
<p>“Significant” to me is when the support reaches a level that greatly interferes with ordinary teen activities, like the ones you mentioned – spending many hours caring for a sick or elderly family member or having to work to bring in extra income for the family.So if your friend’s daughter is precluded from participating in any after-school clubs or other ECs due to her need to take care of a much younger sibling every day (for example, if daycare or after-school programs are not available or are unaffordable), then perhaps that is something that could be addressed with a brief statement/explanation on the application.</p>