Economic relationships between parents and children and between spouses have changed radically over the past century. Economic changes (urbanization, financial crises, wars, etc.), plus a number of laws and social measures, have significantly affected the links of mutual dependence within households to the point where the direction of the monetary flows have been inverted. Focussing specifically on the Quebec context, the article will attempt to identify the linchpins of these changes by looking at the links between young people and their parents and between the latter and the social issues they raise.