Today, I asked my son what his goals in life are. He said he doesn’t have any career goals, and the only thing he wants out of life is to play Dungeons and Dragons. I have failed as a parent. FML
Collection
Fall
Dead leaves, the first cold of the season and an umbrella flipped inside out: fall, the season of grace.
Today, my son's teacher asked him what he wanted to be when he grew up. He put down "unemployed". FML
Today, I had to explain to my son that his dad was too busy in a raid on World of Warcraft to be at his award ceremony. FML
Today, I told my dad that I was going to sleep over my friend's house this weekend with a few other guys to play Dungeons and Dragons. He responded with, "Oh, back in my day, me and my pals used to pick on the kids who played Dungeons and Dragons." FML
Today, I once again told my son he needed a job and a girlfriend because I simply could not keep him in my house anymore. He yelled, "No, I can do whatever I want!" Then went back to playing video games. He's 38. FML
Today, my son apparently has no interest in having a life. He goes from his tiny one-bed flat to work, then back home again to play with his computer. It’s a good job, so he can afford a life, but he has no friends, never dates or goes anywhere, he even gets his shopping delivered. What can I do? FML
Today, I'd set aside a weekend to play Dungeons & Dragons. One of our players suddenly had trouble with his wife and brought his toddler over. The kid would not stop crying, getting into places he shouldn't be, and loudly shitting his diaper every 15 minutes. I had to eject the player from the game. This is why I don't want kids. FML
Today, I asked my 4-year-old daughter where her father went. She said, "Out to have fun with Zoe." Acting on suspicion, I followed him and did a stakeout. Hours later, I barged in and caught him playing Dungeons and Dragons. "Zoe" is the female wizard he plays as. FML
Today, my son told me not to be silly, because things like the Tooth Fairy and Santa don’t exist. He’s three years old. I guess we’ll just skip all the magical moments of his childhood I was looking forward to, and start the process of turning him into a soulless adult who doesn’t know how to have fun. FML
Today, my boyfriend taught my son to do his chores. Not real chores, but "Runescape chores" on my boyfriend's account. My son won't pick up his toys or put his shoes away, but he'll jump on the computer to grow plants or cut trees or some other stupid shit. FML
Today, I wanted my son to take a break from his comic books and be more active, so I converted our big backyard into a home-sized football field, hoping this would motivate him to finally get into sports. While I had him running drills, I heard him grumble, "This is why mom left you." FML
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Top comments
Anderling 33
How old is he? Because I don't think anyone up to and including college age really has their life on track, and he could absolutely get there in a few years.
Earl_KarmasBitch 36
Point him at a few D&D YouTube channels and ask him what his plan for D&D podcasting is.
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Comments (7)
Earl_KarmasBitch 36
Point him at a few D&D YouTube channels and ask him what his plan for D&D podcasting is.
Anderling 33
How old is he? Because I don't think anyone up to and including college age really has their life on track, and he could absolutely get there in a few years.
RichardPencil 32
I've heard professional Dungeonmasters can make 7-figure salaries. Of course, that's in dungeon currency which in US dollars is... ...let me check the current exchange rate... ...uhhh, nothing. Nope, the rate hasn't changed. It's still nothing.
tiptoppc 21
It goes down if your loot chest turns out to mimic being your wallet.
HouseOfM 8
How old is your son? I do know that social media has given people the wrong idea that it's a good career. For every 100 that make it thousands don't.
xaddrus 17
again not a career path. it’s just what he wants to do
HouseOfM 8
I'm sure if it's a goal of his, he plans on making money from it somehow
protoskore 27
Do what many American parents do. tell him at 18 he has to start paying you rent or he gets kicked out.
youaremysunshine95 1
I mean I don’t blame him. 🤷🏼♀️ He probably sees you and/or your partner burning themselves out every work day, miserable. The work until you die lifestyle isn’t as great as everyone tries to make it out to be. I’ve only been working for 12 years and it feels like an eternity. You still haven’t told anyone his age from what I’ve seen…if he’s a teenager, anything he says about his career is pointless. Come at the discussion with empathy. Ask him questions instead of telling him what he needs to do. And explain how and why a career can give him a more fulfilling life, even if it’s hard. Help him branch out and find areas of interest that could encourage him towards a career in those areas in the future. Also don’t rule out mental health issues. A lot of issues - ADHD, autism, depression, anxiety, etc - can make life feel paralyzing and a career sound impossible. If he stays unmotivated as the years go on, make it clear that you can’t support him forever and that you have an expectation for him to get a job and pay his way at home, or move out and pay more to get by. Remind him that you love him, and one way that you show that is by pushing him in pursuit of things that will give him a better life.
Billsonhamsen 17
If this child is below 15 years old this is probably not a huge deal. If the kid is above 16 they really need to have expectations about the future. I feel for you but I suspect you haven't had a lot of conversations about this kind of stuff with your kid. I would start by having conversations about your job the good and the bad. Tell him about the jobs of the people he's close to like maybe his grandparents or his friend's parents. You can ask him what kind of things he thinks are interesting. Now here comes the hard part. Honesty. Without being mean you sometimes have to tell people that their career paths won't make enough money for them to get by. There are tons of people who only make like 30 to $50,000. If you're single that might be okay but that's probably not going to be enough money to pay the bills in most places. You have to say this in a nice way but a direct and bold way. We don't hate people that have jobs that don't pay a lot but you want the best out of life for your child. You can talk to your child about the difference between a career and a hobby and a side hustle. All three are valid in their place. Make sure your kid knows that the things that aren't going to make any money go in the hobby section. I taught for a brief time and I used to ask my students what they wanted to do when graduated. I would usually then ask them what their plan b was and what their plans c was. Sometimes kids just need a little push to get their minds to start working. Don't expect teachers to do it though. That's your job as a parent. Really you shouldn't be expecting teachers to do almost anything nowadays. Don't worry I respect teachers plenty I'm just saying we can't expect anything out of them. They're already overwhelmed with the garbage politics in the school systems and a lack of discipline that's allowed. With my own kids I found it easier if I have frequent conversations about things that are important. They don't have to make any decisions now
Billsonhamsen 17
He doesn't have to make any decisions now but you should help him make plans now.