Post by Deleted on Apr 20, 2011 16:06:06 GMT -5
My heart goes out to you Bob. I have no wise advice to offer, but doubt there's some kind of quick solution. Sounds to me like a case of chronic depression.
Beware of anything purporting to be a miracle remedy. Military? Well, I'd argue with your fear that it's especially dangerous, compared to many jobs. Heck, the opposite argument can be made by insurance actuaries who will issue life insurance policies at a reduced rate for young members. But, with the history of medication, the military is not an option, anyway. If academics, baseball, nor employment can light him up, he'll need to find something that will. Best you can do is try to expose him to some options, whether it is some kind of work, recreation, or area of study.
Never had to make a kid hit the road. I guess a starting point would be to discuss some kind of rent, room/board arrangment, at first. You really don't want to facilitate long-term dependancy, so you owe it to him to come up with some kind of formalized arrangement when you think he can handle it. From there, you can always make the arrangment increasingly steep, until perhaps it motivates him to move on/up/out.
But, keep your mind/heart open to some kind of underlying problem. This really sounds like clinical depression, and I don't know if all that tough love stuff will really do much good.
Beware of anything purporting to be a miracle remedy. Military? Well, I'd argue with your fear that it's especially dangerous, compared to many jobs. Heck, the opposite argument can be made by insurance actuaries who will issue life insurance policies at a reduced rate for young members. But, with the history of medication, the military is not an option, anyway. If academics, baseball, nor employment can light him up, he'll need to find something that will. Best you can do is try to expose him to some options, whether it is some kind of work, recreation, or area of study.
Never had to make a kid hit the road. I guess a starting point would be to discuss some kind of rent, room/board arrangment, at first. You really don't want to facilitate long-term dependancy, so you owe it to him to come up with some kind of formalized arrangement when you think he can handle it. From there, you can always make the arrangment increasingly steep, until perhaps it motivates him to move on/up/out.
But, keep your mind/heart open to some kind of underlying problem. This really sounds like clinical depression, and I don't know if all that tough love stuff will really do much good.
