Most countries consider a person to be legally an adult when they are 18, although biology says that we don’t fully develop until we are in our mid-20s. But teenagers will always think that they know best and that they are fully capable of deciding things for themselves.
Making life-changing decisions when you don’t have much life experience can be dangerous, but this mom didn’t really do anything when her 17 Y.O. son told her he’s dropping out and actually lied to her husband about why he’s not going to school.
More info: Reddit
Every parent hopes that their children will successfully finish school, but this mom was surprised that her son willingly quit it
Image credits: Oleksandr Pidvalnyi (not the actual photo)
She was so surprised, she didn't know what to do, so she didn't do anything and even lied to her husband that their son was suspended
Image credits: Timur Weber (not the actual photo)
Image credits: RODNAE Productions (not the actual photo)
Image credits: u/Unhappy_Flan4334
The truth eventually came out and the dad didn't want to see his son anymore, which he achieved, but not the way he intended
Parents never want to hear that their child is dropping out of school, but this woman’s 17-year-old son did just that. However, he didn’t really explain why he doesn’t want to finish high school as he probably has just a couple of years to go. He told his mom that he “doesn't feel like attending anymore" and he refused to take the General Educational Development test, which would have earned him a high school equivalency credential.
The mom was completely at a loss and didn’t know how to react, so she didn’t say anything. Not only that, but she didn’t tell her husband, her son’s dad. She wasn’t hiding it, she just lied that their son was suspended.
The truth didn’t take time to come out and one day the mom came back home to her son and his girlfriend packing his things. It wasn’t because the teen decided that it was time to live on his own, but because his dad found out he had dropped out and from the two choices of being kicked out or going back to school, he considered being kicked out better.
Just like the husband was mad at his wife about being lied to about their son, the wife was mad that her husband made a one-sided decision to kick their son out of their home. Or maybe it’s not their home, but her home, because the one who got kicked out in the end was the husband.
Only the woman’s sister agreed that the dad’s punishment was too much, but the rest of the family supported the dad for taking strict measures against his son’s rebellion.
Or was it a rebellion? There are a lot of unanswered questions in this story, but that didn’t stop people from giving their judgment. The common consensus was that the mom was being a jerk. One of the reasons was lying to her husband about their son dropping out. Another reason was her reaction to her son opening up about dropping out or more precisely, the lack thereof. And lastly, because she kicked her husband out of the house instead of trying to talk about it and sort the situation through.
It seems that the dad overreacted to his son quitting school, his mom overreacted to her husband kicking out their son, but nobody wanted to find out the reasons why it all even started and if the son has a plan for what he’s going to do with his future.
Image credits: Christian Erfurt (not the actual photo)
While a lot of people thought that the mom handled the situation poorly, at the same time, they believed that the son got what he deserved because if he can make such a big decision about leaving school, he can face the consequences.
Let’s not forget that he’s 17 and you can’t trust that a person at this age knows what they’re doing. To help them to understand what they are doing with their actions, you need to talk to them, which the parents failed to do.
Also, they didn’t even consider that maybe there is a bigger reason behind why their son decided out of the blue that he’s done with school. All the same, maybe he did confide in them, but they dismissed his feelings and didn’t offer help.
Granted, the most common reason for students dropping out is boredom, as reported by ASCD, but it could be that he has mental struggles or he feels his school isn’t a safe environment. Even if it is boredom, kicking a child out of home is never recommended.
It is understandable that parents worry when their child decides to not finish school, mainly because they worry about their future careers and higher education possibilities as dropouts statistically earn less and work harder jobs than those who do graduate.
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, “In the third quarter of 2019, full-time workers aged 25 and older had median weekly earnings of $975. Those without a high school diploma had median weekly earnings of $606, compared with $749 for high school graduates (no college), and $874 for workers with some college or an associate degree. Workers with a bachelor's degree (and no additional degree) had median weekly earnings of $1,281.”
But that doesn’t mean you give up on your child. As the first step, all parenting resources online suggest communicating with your child. Brisbane Kids provides a table or a checklist to consider before completely deciding on leaving school.
First of all, you need to know the reasons and whether they can be resolved. Second of all, the teen might not know what dropping out really looks like and how it can affect their life, so it is an important discussion. Maybe if you see that you are failing to communicate with your child, you want to talk to a professional who has more experience in the matter. And lastly, there is always the option to go back to school even after dropping out.
It seems that the mom wasn’t too mad at her son for making this decision and was processing how to handle the situation, but his dad immediately thought that the teen expected financial support for doing nothing. Do you think that was the case and the teen should have gotten a taste of the life he was planning to start? Or do you think the parents should have tried to make up their son’s mind in a less extreme way? Let us know in the comments.
Redditors were more on the dad's side, but they couldn't help but notice that the family had major communication issues
