As a parent of a 24 year old, it's easy for me to see how it can be hard to determine when it's time for your child to become financially independent.
Our decision making was made easy by a child who happily entered our least expensive state school, didn't mind living with us during school, and interned while in college straight into a stable job/career the day after graduation.
In rocketry terms, we had a good main engine burn to put him in GTO, now he's the ignited second stage, and we had a nominal launch.
Subtract any of the above (ideal) values, and I can see how a parent/child group can devolve into a possibly unhealthy situation.
Even with a plan for independence, the vagaries of life can easily lead the parties to want to alter the deal in light of adverse events.
sounds like you did a good job with yours. I'm 26 now and had a very similar path to independence.
provided the family can afford it, I think it's perfectly reasonable to help your offspring with stuff like food, clothing, and housing until they start making enough money that they can reasonably handle it themselves. my parents supported me enough that I never had to worry about making ends meet for essentials on top of my coursework, but it was modest enough that I was able to increase my standard of living quite a bit when I got my first full-time job and became independent.
I knew a couple people at college that would get $1000+ deposited in their account at the beginning of every month. they had a meal plan and a dorm on campus so this was just straight disposable cash. those kids had a really hard time adjusting to life after graduation. I honestly doubt they're actually independent (financially) even now.
Our decision making was made easy by a child who happily entered our least expensive state school, didn't mind living with us during school, and interned while in college straight into a stable job/career the day after graduation.
In rocketry terms, we had a good main engine burn to put him in GTO, now he's the ignited second stage, and we had a nominal launch.
Subtract any of the above (ideal) values, and I can see how a parent/child group can devolve into a possibly unhealthy situation.
Even with a plan for independence, the vagaries of life can easily lead the parties to want to alter the deal in light of adverse events.