No. They can. There is clear stats on this. 54% of first time home buyers in the millennial generation, had parental assistance in buying their first home. If your parents did help you buy your first house, you're in the minority of millennials.

And in my personal experience that totally tracks. Most people I know my own age... had parental help buying homes. But they do not talk about it at all, because they know it's shameful. They still look down on people who don't own homes though!

Only a minority of millennials paid their own way through life, as in paid for their own college, cars, houses, etc. Of course, that's going to vary widely regionally. You are going to see people in the Midwest who went to state schools, probably the majority of those who did pay their own way. But if you talk about coastal USA, that's where the proportion of people who got everything bought for them, is going to be much higher. Where I live, in Boston, it's incredibly rare to find anyone who paid for their own school and housing in 2026, due to the HCOL that makes it only really affordable for people who already have money.

I've met many people who tell me my parents are abusive because they didn't buy me a house or pay for my education... that's how crazy it is here. I'm sure in the Midwest it's very different.