There is a certain amount of truth to this. When I was a kid, I could not screw up because my parents were not in a position to help me very much if I screwed up, and I knew this, and so did they. So, generally, I didn’t. But I saw people whose parents COULD help them out if they screwed up, screw up. Now, you don’t need parents (at least not your own, anyway) to bail you out...and you don’t have to listen to any “I told you so’s”, either.
I believe that you are referring to the well-known phenomenon of moral hazard, right?
Regards,