Subject to change as I don't have kids. But if I do have kids, I plan on paying for their educations and helping with a house down payment, as long as I can afford it, and probably helping with miscellaneous odds and ends as well, as long as I didn't raise little entitled shits and it doesn't endanger my own retirement. I see things as getting harder for the upcoming generations, not easier, not even staying the same, in terms of at the very least housing and education, probably healthcare as well. I hear a lot of comments on here about "well my parents paid X for my degree and I earned the rest with a summer job and that's what we'll do for my kid." Okay, that's fine, but understand that puts your kid in a measurably worse position than you as college has skyrocketed past inflation. If that's cool with you, go for it, it's your money and they're entitled to nothing, maybe you're right that the extra hustle will do them good. But understand that your kid will have a bigger bill to pay than you or your parents did for the same education, and may end up having to make some very hard choices you never had to (either struggling financially to pay back loans in a modest paying job they enjoy or chasing 80 hour work weeks in a job that they don't enjoy but pays enough to cover their student loans).
I don't really understand why on this forum of all places we're seeing so much of this 'struggle builds character, money hurts kids' school of thought. If you raise your kids with a good work ethic and financial education, they should be able to optimize any assistance you give them.
My parents paid for my entire education, including law school. They matched my teenage savings in a Roth IRA that I only found out about a year ago (it now has 30k and I've never touched it, nor will I). They're also planning to help (in a modest amount, I've currently saved close to six times what they've offered) with a down payment, as well as paying for my car insurance, keeping me on their cell phone plan and other odds and ends.
Here's a story I don't admit on this board often because parental assistance is viewed so negatively: I once rented an 800 dollar a month apartment for a couple of months (incredibly cheap for my area), in a not-so-great location because like many new lawyers I was paid abysmally and wanted to save as quick as possible. I say only 'a couple of months' because a well-publicized murder took place at the IHOP across the street from my apartment and my parents immediately offered to pay to break my lease, moving expenses and the difference in the nicer apartment and the cheaper apartment for a year because they were worried about my safety. I took them up on their offer, but was able to make the higher rent on my own because I ended up getting a 10k raise via job hopping and could pay the difference. I then got another 10k raise about about two years later and I'm doing quite nicely for myself now. I've been out of school less than four years and saved 70k on my own, not counting the 30k they saved for me in a Roth IRA.
I didn't turn into a lazy brat or on drugs or perpetually unemployed because I'm "finding myself" or whatever. But because of their help, I also don't have to chase the 80 hour a week private practice jobs my friends had to because of the weight of their student loan debts or live in a unsafe apartment because I'm saving and "building character" I guess. Instead I work in a critically necessary public interest position that may not pay the best for a lawyer job (60k) but allows me to help people instead of chasing money and provides good work life balance. I believe this is the case because my parents stressed to me, early and often, the importance of education and having a career that makes you happy and fulfilled as well as the importance of money, of saving and compounding interest, from going over the pennies I was earning every month in my little savings account that they had me contribute to from as far back as I can remember to celebrating the day they paid off our house when I was in middle school and carefully explaining how much they saved in interest.
As far as inheritance goes, if you set up your kids by helping with education and a first home, they'll have such an amazing leg up in life it's doubtful they'll ever need more. Compounding isn't just for the stock market.
I dunno where I'm going with this TL;DR. Just wanted to point out that financial help doesn't always lead to maladjusted kids.