I don't have kids but I would like to weigh in on this matter anyway.
Personally, I believe parents have the responsibility to do whatever they can to help put their kids through college and to begin saving for this time several years before the time comes. After all, a college degree is no longer a luxury. This is not to say that students should just sit back and not do their part. They can also beat the bushes for financial aid and work during the summer. But they do not need the distraction of worrying about finances while they study, and knowing that their parents are behind them is a great psychological boost as well.
For those parents who have no intentions to help put their kids through college, please let them know as early as possible, i.e. when they are still in elementary school. The least you can do is contribute by working with your kids in seeking scholarships and other forms of financial aid. From the time I was in grade school, my parents led me to believe that they would fund my college education. But right after I graduated high school they informed that they weren't going to assist me after all. They had never put away money for this purpose. They just thought they could improvise when the time came.
Interestingly, here in the Philippines, which is supposedly a "poor" country and has many social flaws, one cultural practice that I do admire is that parents do whatever they can to pay for their kids' education, and their children for the most part are grateful for it. Consequently, pre-need plans for college are big business here. By way of contrast when I was growing up in the U.S. the ony pre-need plans I ever heard about were for burials.
Over the years as a working adult, I acquired about 2 years of college credits. But I did have the satisfacation of helping finance my wife through her bachelor's and master's degrees. What more so must be the feeling of pride for parents who have done the same for deserving family members.
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