I’m in this predicament with my soon-to-be 15-year-old son.

  • ImplyingImplications@lemmy.ca
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    6 days ago

    Good on you for recognizing the difference and trying your best, but some people are just different. If you met a guy like your son somewhere else in your life, would you hang out with them? Probably not. The bond keeping you and your son together is that you’re family.

    I don’t dislike my parents, but the only reason I talk to them is because they regularly invite me over for supper. If they didn’t do that we’d probably never talk. That seems to scare the hell out of them, so regular suppers is what they’ve decided on. I have a friend who is really into board games. His parents decided they’d have regular game nights where they get together to play one of his board games.

    Your son will eventually become independent and you’ll need to have a reason to keep in touch. He’s probably not going to take up woodworking so you’ll have to find some other reason to get together.

    Side note! I’m an anime k-pop guy and my father is a woodworking police officer. We don’t see current events or politics the same way, but we don’t argue! I’m not afraid to express my true thoughts to my father because I know he’s not going to get upset. If you do want to talk about your son’s interests with him, then do so with an open mind. Maybe he likes these things because he sees the world differently than you and he might not want to express himself if he’s worried you’ll argue.

    • Today@lemmy.world
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      5 days ago

      The bond that keeps OP and their son together is family, but the bond that keeps you tied to your family is free food?

      • ImplyingImplications@lemmy.ca
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        5 days ago

        I said bond but I didn’t mean to imply it actually binds people. If two people work at the same place they also have a bond, but that doesn’t mean they get along. Unlike coworkers, family can’t really become not family, but again it doesn’t mean they get along.

        The only reason OP wants to talk to someone who shares none of their interests is because that someone is family. There is no reason they’d talk otherwise. I was trying to say they need to have a reason to talk besides being related.