"We'll all die, so what's the point?"
That's what my son says.
I was talking to him about adjusting his "screen time" after his doctor told me "maximum of two hours a a day is recommended." I was allowing him up to 4 hours and basically no limit to phone time. I know, it's too much, but it made sense at the time. The point was to give him the responsibility of balancing work and play because the screen time I gave him was based on his grades.
What was I thinking?
If I give him up to 4 hours, OF COURSE he was gonna use it up. Stupid me, really.
He didn't like this change at all. He got upset and started talking back, spouting nonsense as usual.
He said
"I don't see the point in studying. I'm gonna die one day and become a zero. Nothing will remain of me, so it'll all be a waste. So, why bother?"
Yes, I know it's a deflection. He always tries to deflect or blame other people/things for his own failures (OH MY BIG FAT RED BUTTON).
But he's been having this depressing outlook on life for at least a few years now.
He also says he's terrified of dying, and the only hope he has is to grow up and invent something to let him live forever. And yet, when I tell him that he should then get on with learning how to do that by studying and doing well in school, he has other excuses not to do so (but of course).
Oh, my weird 15-year-old son...
I worry about him because he's just not a generally happy kid. Stark contrast from his 10-year-old brother, who is a happy-go-lucky kid, prone to tears against obstacles but bounces right back.
The 15-year-old is not very empathetic or compassionate yet, and I think that contributes to his overall unhappiness because he feels so disconnected from everyone else.
But he is a good kid. He would never try to hurt anyone, and he is very forgiving. He is kind to his friends, and his friends like him.
But what do I do when he says "What's the point of living?" but refuses to accept any spiritual or philosophical approach I personally have toward death?
Like my friend said, though, it's far better than him comtemplating suicide.
I'm just hoping that this accute fear of death is just a phase.
Oh, motherhood.
I was talking to him about adjusting his "screen time" after his doctor told me "maximum of two hours a a day is recommended." I was allowing him up to 4 hours and basically no limit to phone time. I know, it's too much, but it made sense at the time. The point was to give him the responsibility of balancing work and play because the screen time I gave him was based on his grades.
What was I thinking?
If I give him up to 4 hours, OF COURSE he was gonna use it up. Stupid me, really.
He didn't like this change at all. He got upset and started talking back, spouting nonsense as usual.
He said
"I don't see the point in studying. I'm gonna die one day and become a zero. Nothing will remain of me, so it'll all be a waste. So, why bother?"
Yes, I know it's a deflection. He always tries to deflect or blame other people/things for his own failures (OH MY BIG FAT RED BUTTON).
But he's been having this depressing outlook on life for at least a few years now.
He also says he's terrified of dying, and the only hope he has is to grow up and invent something to let him live forever. And yet, when I tell him that he should then get on with learning how to do that by studying and doing well in school, he has other excuses not to do so (but of course).
Oh, my weird 15-year-old son...
I worry about him because he's just not a generally happy kid. Stark contrast from his 10-year-old brother, who is a happy-go-lucky kid, prone to tears against obstacles but bounces right back.
The 15-year-old is not very empathetic or compassionate yet, and I think that contributes to his overall unhappiness because he feels so disconnected from everyone else.
But he is a good kid. He would never try to hurt anyone, and he is very forgiving. He is kind to his friends, and his friends like him.
But what do I do when he says "What's the point of living?" but refuses to accept any spiritual or philosophical approach I personally have toward death?
Like my friend said, though, it's far better than him comtemplating suicide.
I'm just hoping that this accute fear of death is just a phase.
Oh, motherhood.