

As someone who is 20 and has kept fish since he was 7(with the help of his mom)/12(alone), I feel obliged to say that a) you should define what you mean by kid (by many standards I would (or would like to) consider me and many like me to be kids); b) mention that perhaps instead of being forever skeptical, parents might like to instead be informed, helpful and responsible. Being a parent is not about policing your child making sure he never ****s up by preventing them from engaging in activities they like; it should be more about being there for them and helping them not to **** up while sharing a good time with them. Or perhaps that is just my utopian understanding of what a parent should be like. Yes, there should be limits, but really, saying no out of principle, is not a good limit.
Disclaimer: I do not know who is this "Andrew", to whom this thread seems to pertain to.
edit:
I really do not believe that parents should ever be happy that their kid is doing something instead of ****ing up in life. Yes, they are doing the right thing (supporting the kid's passion); however, they are doing it so as to be less involved in the kid's upbringing without drastically increasing the chance of him ****ing up. If you're going to be happy just because your kid is not ****ing up, you should never have decided to have kids. </from the perspective of a kid who has never majorly ****ed up>
Or, you know, study for exams, go to college, get good grades; long term things. As somebody who spends 9 hours a day or more being in school/studying/going to and from school (as any kid who's parents can afford it, should), a job is not a possibility.
Ever thought of the possibility of selling a tank when they go to college? Maybe, agree on keeping fish that can be re-homed when such a time comes?
P.s. boy, this reply sure has a lot of **** in it

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P.p.s. I never wanted to build a really monster tank or even have one; I just feel many in this thread are polarized on the issue as opposed to being prepared to talk. Kind of like the US political system

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