"I used to think the parents had a great deal of influence on their children's sense of responsibility. But now that mine are grown, I think otherwise."
I wouldn't be so quick to go to one extreme or the other. I think parents, along with many other factors, have a great deal of influence. But they are not the sole predictors.
I come from a large family and some are lazy and others aren't. The reality was that we were all parented differently and our parents were a big influence on how we turned out. In fact the perfect dysfunctional family tends to have both over- and under-achievers in it.
I responded to the previous post because it was fairly clear these kids had been coddled growing up and the parents were mad because they became dependant.
If you are referring to me, I can assure you my kids weren't coddled growing up. They were made to be responsible and in fact, where a site MORE responsible at 14 or 15 than they are now in their 20's. When I said my kids wanted for nothing, I meant things kids SHOULD have, like a roof over their heads, food, doctors, clothes, etc, things that my husband and I didn't have a lot of the time. We decided that we would not have children if we could not afford to give them at least a decent living. I doubt that means they were spoiled.
I have every faith that they will grow up, even though they might need to spend some time living under a bridge to get it.