What an awesome father. I'm scared I won't ever be able to switch careers or RE because I have this fear that my kids will fail to launch and will need my support. I worked with a guy who stayed on the job past 70 because he had a grandchild with special needs he was supporting and he also helped out his other kids because he didn't think it was fair to only help on child/grandchild.
How much do we owe our kids? How can we pull the plug on earning when our kids aren't yet established or secure? At what point do we stop worrying about our kids? This is what I don't understand about RE.
Well, I assume you won't ER or switch careers without having your own financial bases covered, so even if you do those things you'll have a place to live and food to eat. So your theoretical kids in dire straits won't be starving or homeless, at the very least, they can crash on your couch/floor and eat a few meals with you.
So is the worry that your kids won't be able to establish themselves in a certain standard of career or achieve security of a certain level for themselves, and your preferred remedy for that is just to give them money? On a regular, long-term basis?
If your kid doesn't have a disability that brings unavoidable dependency, you're probably of more help to them, in an ongoing and sustainable way, having the time and energy to emotionally support them through school or skills training, getting and moving beyond entry level roles, navigating domestic/family challenges they may be having, learning how to manage their finances, etc. (anything that falls under the category "adulting".) You can be present and helpful on their journey to becoming established and secure through their own efforts. What they achieve for themselves may not be as nice as what you could hand them via economic outpatient care, but it has the virtue of being something they can maintain for themselves, through abilities they've built or experience they've earned, rather than their standard of living being dependent on you.
For children/grandchildren who are dependent due to disability, that's a bit more situation dependent. In some cases money may be the answer, in other cases, your being involved in caregiving could be more valuable in boosting that loved one's quality of life. (There is also the question of if the child/grandchild should be getting "the best money can buy" for everything, or if what is standard and provided by the government and medical system is perfectly adequate for some things.) I would certainly not be providing equal cash assistance to healthy, able children/grandchildren (they already got their unearned jackpot by being free of disability).
The father in the story certainly seems loving, but perhaps he's taking his support of his daughter too far. There's no mention of why his daughter is dependent on him for security. With a graduate degree and a professional job, isn't she in prime position to achieve that security for herself? She can work hard for a few years to establish a practice, pay off SL, and invest. Perhaps knowing her future security is up to her (mom and dad aren't waiting in the wings to help) will motivate her to achieve it on her own.