> I think parents need to be reasonably involved with their children even when they are students, but here the child seems to do well so there is no reason to worry
OP is talking about a full grown adult. Not a child.
Indeed, the adult child of the parent. The word child in English can refer to a very young person, but also commonly refers to the progeny of a person, as in the comment you were responding to, where child was used in reference to the parent that was also referred to in the comment.
> OP is talking about a full grown adult. Not a child.
This is an interesting tangent to me. What makes a full grown adult? Is it being able to drive a car? Being able to serve in the military? Being able to drink? Vote? In the state where I grew up, these were all different ages.
And then there’s the scientific notion of when the brain is “finished” developing and maturing in the mid- to late-20s.
In the context of the original ask, I would say "legally allowed to make their own gd decisions about what to study". No idea why OP feels the need to insert himself into that process.
It's not an incorrect word, but it can be possibly misconstrued as being infantilizing, because "child" somewhat implies a young person. But I can't think of a better word!
Perhaps it could have been more a bit more tactful to reword to avoid saying "child", like saying "your son is doing well" in this case.