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Not sure if it's an "obligation" but we plan to pay for LOs education.

I don't feel an obligation, no. Right now I am working very hard, and have been the last several years, to finish my education and pay for it all out of pocket and this challenge has made me a better person and much more financially wise. Sure it would have been nice to be done with school years ago but I don't blame my parents.

I would like to help with LO's education if I'm able but I do not feel obligated to. He will be an adult.

I don't feel obligated, but we would love to help as much as we can. I have student loan debt for days. I want to help him avoid that burden. Hopefully, we'll put enough in his 529 to put a big dent in his tuition bill.

@Mae: agree. I think being able to go to college is a privilege. A lot of kids in this country don't realize that and don't take college seriously enough because it's all paid for as they drive around in their Cadillac SUVs! Blegh.

Not exactly. I plan to do my absolute best to finance as much as my husband and I can realistically save for and manage, down the line. I will help steer my children towards scholarships, work study, and grants, if applicable. If they have the grades, I will also strongly encourage prestigious, public universities. I have no intention of letting my children make blind, financial decisions at the age of eighteen, but tuition is climbing, and they'll likely have to help a bit.

I don't, but my husband does. I hope our children qualify, apply, and receive scholarships to off set the costs.

@Mae: agree. Even if I have the finances, I won't pay for my child's education in full. And I may have a stipulation that they do work study or other PT job.

@locavore_mama: I agree it is a privilege and it is important they realize and understand that.

We want to. We both struggled so much. We paid for grad school out of pocket but we'll be paying undergrad for years to come :(. I would want to help my child(ren) anyway we can

Don't feel obligated, but we want to and will!

I kind of do. We plan to fully pay for it. However not provide spending money. DH and my parents paid our tuition and we paid for spending, books, parking etc. It is amazing to start out of school debt free!

I don't feel obligated, but I will do anything I can to make that possible. I feel about it the same way I feel about anything for my child. We will do our best to do it for him, but if I just cannot, then I cannot.
My parents personally could not afford it. My sister and I were in college at the same time. We ended up getting full rides after going to private schools all our lives and studying with our parents every night. They provided us with cars and gas and laptops to help us get through college easier. That's all they could do. I love them for it. They set us up very nicely for college, even though they couldn't actually pay for it. I don't think they felt obligated, they just thought it was just as important as anything else. I guess I share that way of thought.

ETA: I was 100% on my own for grad school. And yes, they expected and almost demanded grad school even though they couldn't pay for it. I did it because I wanted to, and also because I wanted to capitalize on all the hard work my parents went through with me and my education.

No

I do feel a responsibility to help pay for college (we can't afford to pay for a full college education unless she was to go to a city/state school) because of my own experience. I'd like her to work hard and get scholarships to help pay for it along with the money we save up. The way things are going now I will be done with my loans by the time she is a sophomore (which is why I am overpaying right now so that I can be done before she goes to college). I don't want her to start off her adult life with this large number looming over her head. I wish I had been taught about finances and loans and all that jazz when I was a teenager, but I wasn't.

So, yes, I feel a responsibility--I think a lot of people want to do better than what they had, at least people who grew up in low-income families like I did. I want her to have more than I had--and for me that also means helping to fund her college education.

I don't feel an obligation, I want to! We do expect college degrees as education is a high priority in our households (both us and our parents, etc.). I feel lucky that we're able to save towards their college. My parents WISH they could have, but they worked their asses off to get me TO college and I'm forever grateful to have had the opportunity to go, because of that I'm able to provide our kid(s) an even greater advantage.

Not sure if I feel obligated but our plan is to pay for as much as possible.

Not an obligation really, but I would pay for it.

DH's parents gave him something much more valuable. They helped him when he started his first business when he was 14. His dad spent a lot of time teaching him how to work and manage his own business and they funded his first expenses. Because of that he was able to buy his own car, pay his own way through college and save his own down payment on a home. It also helped him grow into a much more independent and successful adult. I'd like to do something similar with our kids.

What I really feel I am obligated to do is give my kids the best possible start in life. I don't think that necessarily has anything to do with paying for their college.

I don't feel an obligation, but my parents paid for zero and I came out with 6 figure debt (6 year professional degree). I will do everything in my power to set my children up to avoid that. It has been overwhelming.

Nope. We will help if we can, like our parents did. We will save up for her though.