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Article created by: Gabija Palšytė
To quote Scout Barry from Moneyball, who was trying to persuade Billy Beane to commit to the New York Mets, "We're all told at some point in time that we can no longer play the children's game, we just don't know when that's gonna be. Some of us are told at eighteen, some of us are told at forty, but we're all told."
However, not everyone hears it. On Reddit, a user named Pigeon_Bones_ opened a conversation about the worst cases of people who never managed to grow up. From mooching off parents to throwing tantrums, the discussion has become a sad and cringey catalog of missed opportunities and wasted potential. But who knows, maybe these folks can still turn it around.
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#1
My brother and sister. Through no fault of their own.
My sister has chrons and recently developed psychosis. My brother is a high functioning autistic. I am the youngest and the only one working.
They were both enabled by my parents. "They're not feeling well so they cant do it!" Was very common for me. "Hes a boy so he doesnt need to learn how to do chores" was another classic. "Her tummy hurts so you have to clean the kitchen instead" was another. I grew up hearing excuses for them.
They are now 33 and 30. Do not know how to cook or clean so I do it all. They are under my care since my mom passed. I am 27. I am exhausted. I am making them learn because I refuse to be 50 and still look after them.
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#2
The guy who quit jobs every 2 weeks because 'they didn't vibe with him', then blamed society.
#3
My neighbour.
He is 35, lives with his parents. Has a $100k Mercedes and a motorbike, but argues with his parents weekly how he needs the $1000/week allowance they give him to live.
#4
Ex decided he would rather drink, and play games rather than maintain a job, put any effort into paying his (like 20%) share of bills or taking care of himself or putting any effort into a relationship with me or my son. When I left he expected me to continue paying rent and electricity for him to have a party house with his friends. He ended up getting evicted and last I heard he was beating up his new gf in a tent he lives in behind a gas station.
#5
I had a friend who had a massive trust fund that he blew on partying booze and weed. He became a massive alcoholic and never really grew up. He was the most spoiled kid I've ever seen. He had some legal issues and turned his life around recently. Hes working on a masters in cybersecurity so it seems like he's doing pretty well. Hes sober now, and we've recently reconnected. His attitude us completely different. People can change with motivation.
#6
Me. 33, live with my mom. Terrified of driving, so no car. Work full-time at a grocery store, no real ambitions. Lost my virginity at 31, never been in a relationship.
Pretty pathetic. I recently started learning Spanish though, so that’s something.
#7
My sister. Never went to college even though grandparents would pay for it. Worked low skill jobs all her life. Never saved money. Bankrupt at least twice. Now she’s in her late 60s and living off public assistance.
And of course, she thinks all her problems are someone else’s fault.
#8
My high school friend.
We used to spend all our time as teenagers smoking weed and playing Playstation. Last time I saw him, he was in his 30's and still doing exactly that. From what I've heard, he's still doing that in his 40's.
#9
My brother wanted to move out. Parents bought him a house. Technically loaned him money for a house. But my dad kept immaculate financial records, and in 15 years my brother never paid back a single dollar.
Needed a car. Bought him a Mustang. Wrecked Mustang (at fault). Bought him a Camaro. Wrecked Camaro (at fault). Bought him an F250. All new cars. All while my parents paid his car insurance. At the same time he owned the cars, he totaled two motorcycles. At fault. 2nd wreck put him in the hospital for a few days, but my parents also paid his health insurance.
I haven't talked to my brother in over ten years, and five years ago I told my mom if she ever brought him up I would hang up the phone / leave immediately. So she doesn't. Last I heard, he was 42 years old and has never had a full-time job. Ever. I know she still writes him a check every month for about $3000.
#10
Kid of close family friends I knew growing up.
He never grew up beyond his teens.
He's like in his 40s now and will ask if you want to play N64 or whatever console when you visit. He had every console ever plus a room of games. He never worked a job that paid. He never moved out. He doesn't even claim unemployment as that would need effort in this country.
He always demanded the latest toys and consoles etc even now in his late 40s from his parents. Never dated. No relationships ever. I feel bad for him. Not sure what he will do when his parents pass in a couple of years, already the dad is in care and his mum is close to it too.
#11
My brother in law and his wife.
They live in a tiny home that was once a shed on his wife’s parents’ property. They don’t pay rent. They don’t really pay any bills. Don’t pay taxes on the land. He has two part time jobs, she doesn’t work and stays home all day and draws. They cook maybe 2 times a week for themselves while her parents or my in laws cook for them, and they complain about wanting to start their lives but make no efforts to change what they’re doing.
#12
My own half sister. Age 30
She doesn't have children. She doesn't work.
She doesn't work or contribute to bills. Lives off of my parents. Screams and curses at them to pay her car payments and insurance for a car she doesn't drive.
She is on a stipend of money.
She sleeps all day and stays up all night...
The most they can get her to do, is to watch the pets while they (parents) are on vacation.
She bullies and has even hit my children, her nieces and nephews.
My parents have financially supported her, her entire life.
They have helped her several times get out on her own, even when moving to another state far away.
She keeps coming back.
She has absolutely no plans for a future or a family.
I was very hurt and upset when I heard that my parents would be leaving her their lovely home.
A home meant to size a family with children...
And the plan was allegedly to throw me some cash.
That's hurtful to me because I have struggled my entire life with partial paralysis since birth due to birth trauma.
Think light cerebral and Erb's palsy diagnosed.
I think because she is younger than me and more buxom, she is treated with favor by my Mother only.
Failure to launch syndrome is real.
#13
She "re-invents" herself at least twice a year. I've lost track of how many times she's "finally found [her] true self" over the years. From looks to hobbies to gender identity, it never ends.
She once told me that she thinks it's because she doesn't want to grow up, in addition to being highly insecure and dissatisfied with her life. She's a very kind person, but not to herself -- whoever that is.
#14
My ex! He refused to get a job. He’d get so many opportunities, turn up for a week and leave. He also dropped out of his uni studies because he just couldn’t be bothered. What really used to bother me was that he’d rely on his grandma for birthday and Christmas money to buy video games and this was still going on in his late 20s. I broke up with him because I basically predicted he’d be spending his whole life living on a couch. That’s exactly where he is now… and he’s almost 40.
#15
A former co-worker of almost 40 years who continued spending his entire salary on consoles, parties and designer clothes, while living at his mother's house and not paying a single expense. He got angry if someone said something to him and he always said “I'm going to get going”… but he never did.
#16
My oldest brother is 45, lives in our mom's basement and can't keep a job for more than a few months. He just gets lazy, stops showing up and gets fired. Then he just loafs around playing video games until our mom finally makes him get a new job. As you can probably tell, she's his worst enabler. Constant threats of kicking him out but she never follows through on them so he continues his life as a slug in her basement. Naturally, he blames anyone but himself for the state of his existence. My other siblings and I are basically non contact with him.
#17
My Aunt, late 30s. Has never really had a job, lives with my grandmother, no education past high school, never learned to drive, and is a single mother. Even though she lives in poverty, somehow reality hasn’t hit her yet about how bad her circumstances are, and no one really knows what she’ll do once my grandma retires/dies.
#18
Worked for a salon owner who married and decided to stop developing emotionally or intellectually at 19 years old. She was 40 when she hired me. It took over five years working for her for me to slowly realize that her terrible behavior wasn’t ironic, as in “wouldn’t it be the worst if someone was actually like this?” but she earnestly was that terrible.
Running out to grab lunch and offer to grab something for her? “Yes but I’m going to want a million alterations so get a pen and prepare for them to take a while.”
Offering a stick of gum? “Don’t offer me gum unless you’re ready to give me two pieces. I need two.”
Clients indicate that they prefer any other stylist? “I guess I’m second banana.” To their faces! (Guilt tripping clients for choosing anyone other than her.)
She’s so immature, and on top of it all, thinks her behavior is cute.
Now she’s just a 50-something mean girl.
#19
My 42-year-old friend has been unemployed for long stretches of time. He once got fired from working at a small town bus station for getting bored one day and practicing his knife-throwing skills against the wall."
"He thought he was in the right, to the point where he came back to the station after getting fired to throw a chair.
#20
My uncle is in his 40s, still living with his parents. Spends all day gaming. No job, no responsibilities."
"He throws tantrums when asked to help with anything."
#21
I was on an interview panel once. We asked the applicants about leadership. One guy gave a long answer that seemed weird. Finally, one of the other people on the panel asked him, "Are you talking about World of Warcraft?"
He was.
#22
Cousin's kid. In his 30s and has never lived away from home. Randomly decides to go to college for different careers, but no follow through. Periodically works part time for a few days here and there. His parents are in their 60s and financially unstable, and we wonder what he will do when they're gone. My dad has tried to talk to his dad to no avail. .
#23
I have a buddy whos 60. He parties like 21 yr old. Never had kids or a wife. Lives in costa rica and bangs cheap hookers in a house he inherited.
#24
Uncle. He is 50. Lives in a house my mom owns, doesn’t pay rent, and doesn’t work. He gets his mom to buy all of his groceries or his girlfriend’s mom (gf doesn’t work either). He is the most pathetic excuse of a person. I’m sorry to say it. He needs a big reality check.
#25
My brother went from one short-term job to another, always quitting in a snit because of some imagined slight. He would wheedle people into letting him stay with them 'til they got sick of him and kicked him out. He whined and begged for money from our mother, me, my in-laws, and anybody else he could fleece. He just never seemed to realize that he was responsible for himself.
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