brother who sounds a lot like your son and would have fallen flat on his face and end up in some not good situations if my parents did that.


I come from a large family - 10 kids - 5 boys and 5 girls. Most of us seemed to figure out life pretty well, had the occasional and usual learning moments with cars, money, relationships, etc.

For the youngest - my little brother - it took him a little more time and some help/patience from my parents to figure it out. He is by far the most awkward kid, very insecure, struggled through some bad bouts of anxiety through high school, and tried to always joke and find the humor in things to cover of his insecurities. He is also one of the most intelligent people I know from content and knowledge, but struggled with the application of a lot things.

He did move out around age 21 or so to live closer to his college, but it was in a home with my brother and his wife where he still had someone to keep an eye out for him. He eventually made some more friends and moved in with some roommates until he started dating a girl. When it got serious, they moved in together and have been together for about 4 or 5 years. They recently had a baby together, and they seemed to be doing well. While his girlfriend is a little awkward herself, he definitely outkicked his coverage, and they seemed to be doing well. He makes decent money doing what he is doing, but it isn't what he wants to do long-term and is looking/working hard to get into the career that he wants.

So for my brother, things that seemed to click more for me when I was 17 or 18 years old didn't click for him until he was in his mid-20s or so. That's just how it worked out. Glad my parents were patient with him. I truly believe I wouldn't still have him had they kicked him out of the next too soon.