[vpintheak]

I honestly don’t understand why most people pay for their young adults college education. Anyone want to fill me in?
Why do parents baby their children so long?
When an adult, it’s on them. Help your kid out from time to time? Sure. I will do that 10 times out of 10; whether my kids choose college or not.
Again, why baby your adult child by paying for their education?

[Alberta's Child]

The mindset in this country about that particular thing changed when higher education ceased to be a value proposition and turned into an industry.

[desertfreedom765]

It’s not babying your children to help them get established in life or a career.

Not only is it a smart investment but it is the right thing to do.

It also help ensure that they won’t rebound right back into your home when they are in their 30s and can’t take care of themselves and their families.

[married21]

We paid for our kids’ college education. They helped with scholarships and work. We valued their being able to graduate without a loan burden. We taught them that this was a gift, because we love them and value their potential. They had to sign a contract saying that they would give their best efforts, call us regularly, go to church, and if they lost their scholarships they had to come home.
It sort of worked. Daughter graduated in the worst days of Covid. Son just started his last semester. Daughter is not making money like we hoped, but she got married and wants to start a family, not a career. Son is on track with solid career plans.

[Chickensoup]

My oldest two paid for their own Ed and they were out of debt within 3 years.

The younger 2 opted for otj training. One us starting his own concern. The other although mentally ill is a reliable and good worker.

[millenial4freedom]

Realtors have told me from time to time that **most** first-time homebuyers today are receiving "gifts" from relatives/Mom+Dad for down-payments. That is far more ludicrous to me than the parental funding of higher education (if it's in a STEM field).

I think the sad reality is that higher education tuition inflation, even at the community college/state college level, has far, far outpaced wage inflation for the last few decades. Much harder for a kid to truly work his way through college than it was 50 years ago. Most parents know this and get guilt-tripped into paying for Johnny's tuition.