I mean to say that I don&#x27;t think there&#x27;s a universal standard for when parents are or aren&#x27;t obligated to pay for their kid&#x27;s college. Some might have alternatively chosen to invest the money in their children another way, like using it to start a business or starting a stock&#x2F;bonds portfolio. In that sort of scenario, tuition inflation would mostly mean paying a lower portion of the costs than would have happened 8 years prior.<p>In the case described, I somewhat question the motives, since (s)he described &quot;screaming and yelling&quot; over the choice of a different career, which seems to imply they sought a degree of control over his&#x2F;her future. Keep in mind both were Ivy League PhD&#x27;s. So perhaps they didn&#x27;t see it as money set aside as an investment, but more as something they&#x27;d donate with conditions. Not wanting to pay could also be a way of punishing their children for not pursuing the career paths they&#x27;d wanted.<p>The problem in this case, imo, is that there wasn&#x27;t an understanding between them about whether paying for college would still be an option in the future. Since that&#x27;s an attitude that will differ from family to family, it doesn&#x27;t seem unreasonable to think a given family would need to work it out for themselves ahead of time.