A Parent Wonders If They Should Support Their Tween’s Dream Of Being A Singer Even If She Can’t Sing
“I don’t want to crush her, and part of me feels like if I don’t give her a reality check she will be crushed anyways.”
A parent turned to the Parenting subreddit, asking for advice about their tween daughter and her dream of being a professional singer. They are wondering if it’s worth it to just let her continue dreaming or maybe be honest with her about her abilities so she can channel her talents elsewhere.
“My 11-year-old daughter is convinced she is going to be a professional musician/ singer. She half-heartedly plays the trombone. She never sings. Her uncle is a professional musician and she has seen and heard how much he has to practice and how difficult (feast or famine) the industry is,” they began in their post.
“She won’t entertain any other option for her future, yet seems lukewarm on what she says her ‘passion’ is (we have to beg her to practice her instrument. I know she’s only 11, and I don’t want to crush her, and part of me feels like if I don’t give her a reality check she will be crushed anyways. What would you do, more seasoned parents?”
Several Reddit users weighed in with some understanding where the OP is coming from but advised that they tread carefully with their tween daughter’s feelings.
“Nothing, let her dream. She has plenty of time for reality to set in. When I was 11, I was determined to be a millionaire housewife. Not joking. I was convinced this would happen. Shocker to absolutely nobody, that did not happen,” one user wrote.
Another agreed and said, “My mom talked me out of every dream job I had at that age and I resent her for it. So just let her keep dreaming.”
Since she’s only 11, the consensus the Reddit page was to keep the little girl’s dream alive for a little longer. When I was 11, I wanted to be an Oceanographer. I even went to the library and checked out every book they had on the ocean and ocean life. Then, I took them all to school and had them in a stack under my desk. *Nerd Alert!*
Did I have any chance of actually being an oceanographer? No! I lived in the Midwest and get seasick in the bathtub, but my mom never told me that I couldn’t, and it honestly meant a lot!
