Supporting Adult Children: From Taboo to Trend?
Once upon a time, parents quietly slid a check across the table to their grown kids and hoped nobody noticed. Today, a new camp of families is flipping that script—openly planning, saving, and even celebrating the idea of supporting adult children financially well into their 20s and 30s. As the Wall Street Journal reports, record numbers of parents are setting aside funds not just for college, but for their children’s post-college launch, specifically aiming to ease the transition into adulthood. The thinking, echoed by many experts and parents, is hardly about overindulging the next generation. Instead, it’s a practical response to the stark financial realities of 2025: soaring housing costs, tuition, and child care, combined with a dearth of entry-level jobs, have changed the calculus for financial independence. Pew Research shows that around 60% of parents with young adult children helped them financially in the last year, supporting everything from groceries to down payments—and, for many, it extends further, covering grandkids’ daycare or pitching in for unexpected emergencies.
If this sounds like a luxury, it certainly is. For families who can afford it, some view it almost like a “living inheritance,” giving support when it matters most instead of leaving a lump sum later on. But even well-intentioned help needs structure and limits: unchecked, it can delay independence or strain retirement savings, creating tension where there should be opportunity.
The bottom line, as I told the WSJ, is that parents today are more willing to help, but the “why” has changed—the need is simply greater, and helping kids off the starting line is becoming part of the broader planning equation. Think of it as a choice, not an obligation, and approach it with candid conversations, clear boundaries, and a laser focus on your own security first. Whether you’re planning to give a boost to a child buying a first home, chip in for life’s milestones, or simply keep the “phone plan” running one more year, intentionality beats improvisation every time. In the end, the new rules of family support come down to one thing: making conscious, well-planned decisions that put everyone on better financial footing, generation to generation.