At what point?

These religion threads are getting tedious. Here's an attempt to change direction a bit with a philisophical question.

At what point should parents stop supporting their children financially?

Should parents pay for their kids' college? (mine didn't)

Should they pay for a car, gas and insurance? (mine didn't)

I'm curious about others' views on this because I have four kids in college and one in high school.

Ooo this is refreshing, yes we need a new topic --

>>Should parents pay for their kids' college? (mine didn't)<<

Mine did for a year or so, after that I was pretty much on my own and worked my way the rest of the way through. Paid my own living expenses from the start. Mind you this was 17 years ago and college was a LOT cheaper then and minimum wage hasn't risen in line with tuition since then. Advantages of not paying their way: those who fund their own education value it more conviction and treat it less as a birthright and more of a privilege. Disadvantages: longer time to complete your degree when you work 30-40+ hrs/week. Between work and study, something's got to give.

>>Should they pay for a car, gas and insurance? (mine didn't)<<

Car -- NO. I didn't even have a car my first year or so, it's not a necessity item for a college student. Though I must confess my parents then gave me their old Volare, but it literally fell apart within a year (I had to have it towed to get rid of it, LOL)
Gas -- No, except to get home after visiting you :-)
Insurance -- Maybe, and then only if they drive responsibly. ;-)

" And if it's a field in the fine arts or sciences, then that passion better be focused on getting a PhD and working in acadmeia..."

One of my kids wants to be an artist. He DID get a scholarship to a very fine art school. BUT - do you know what the difference between and artist and a pizza is?
The pizza can feed a family of four!

James - a lot of people in my age group (the 40-60 crowd) also remember paying for darned near everything related to college, cars,etc. I just wonder if those days are gone.