I don't doubt that these parents have the best of intentions (and I'm glad it worked out for them and their children), but I wonder about the propriety of encouraging it in general: AFAIK, the strongest indicators of adulthood success are general familial stability and social class, not militaristic parenting or forcing your kids to eat their brussels sprout.

Similarly: the value of knowing that you have a place to call home should you fail in college is incalculable, even if your parents aren't paying your tuition directly. I know that feeling of safety helped me during times of stress, and that the absence of such certainty exacerbated similar feelings in less some of my friends.