{"id":1044920,"date":"2026-09-05T12:43:24","date_gmt":"2026-09-05T12:43:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/1044920\/"},"modified":"2026-09-05T12:43:24","modified_gmt":"2026-09-05T12:43:24","slug":"i-could-see-my-kids-future-careers-before-they-were-10","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/1044920\/","title":{"rendered":"I Could See My Kids’ Future Careers Before They Were 10"},"content":{"rendered":"

My youngest son developed a passion for sharks<\/a> early. By the time he was 18 months old, he could identify at least 150 of the 500 known sharks through photographs in a guidebook. His interest only intensified as he grew. By the time he entered school, he could recite innumerable facts about these creatures.<\/p>\n

I encouraged his interest at every turn, purchasing books and videos and decorating his room with artifacts like megalodon and shark teeth. We even mounted a plaster cast of a shark’s head on the wall that his preschool teacher<\/a> had given him.<\/p>\n

No matter where we ventured on a family vacation<\/a>, we always visited the nearest aquarium and were thrilled when sharks were on display.<\/p>\n

I was convinced that someday this boy would study marine biology<\/a> and maybe even discover an as-yet-unnamed member of the species. That didn’t happen. Instead, like two of his older brothers, he attended art school. <\/p>\n

Their early interests became their career paths<\/strong><\/p>\n

I was wrong about which career this child would pursue, but looking back now at the activities that captured the attention of his three brothers and sister, I could have predicted what direction their professional lives<\/a> would take before they turned 10.<\/p>\n

At 9 years old, one of them asked for a disposable camera<\/a> and proceeded to take a series of truly remarkable photos. Even though I questioned the wisdom of paying tuition for a degree in photography, I did. Would he be able to support himself? Yes. Today, he takes pictures for publications like The New Yorker, the LA Times, and The Hollywood Reporter.<\/p>\n

My oldest started producing videos before he turned a decade old. He earned his first check<\/a> at 14 by submitting shorts of friends wiping out while attempting rollerblading tricks to a TV show that highlighted pranks and falls. They even paid him residuals when they showed his work on repeat.<\/p>\n

After earning a BFA in filmmaking, he pivoted to design work, but even that was foreshadowed by early attempts to launch a T-shirt company.<\/p>\n

For one son, managing his allowance led him to a career in finance<\/strong><\/p>\n

He’d always dabbled in sketching and drawing. When he was 12, he launched a T-shirt line for teens steeped in skate culture. I happily supported this endeavor with a small cash infusion that covered the shirts and silk-screening. I never recouped my investment, but it was worth it for him to learn valuable lessons about starting a business. Although it’s not his main source of income today, he continues to design sports-themed clothing and accessories.<\/p>\n

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Not all my sons are artists. My 2nd one works in finance. In a family of creatives, it’s great to have one child who can manage money. Aside from a school project that included mock stock trades, he did not spend hours studying economics; however, he was always judicious with his allowance.<\/p>\n

When they started high school, I gave each child a couple of hundred dollars every few months to cover their expenses, including clothing, snacks, school supplies, and incidentals. My oldest spent all of his within a week. A few years ago, he designed an investment vehicle that major firms implement for their clients.<\/p>\n

My predictions haven’t always been right<\/strong><\/p>\n

I was convinced that my daughter would earn her income in an animal-related endeavor. In addition to caring for our many pets, she was constantly rescuing injured wildlife she’d find. <\/p>\n

She earned an undergraduate degree in psychology, intending to provide animal-assisted therapy to teens experiencing trauma, but the thought of returning to the classroom for multiple years of study discouraged her from entering the field. She’s a paralegal now with a houseful of dogs, rabbits, and other creatures. She dreams of starting an animal rescue, so maybe I wasn’t that far off in my prediction.<\/p>\n

It’s easy to look back and see how each of my kids formed the lives they’re living today. I’m glad I supported their interests while they were growing up even if they ultimately chose a different path. My youngest does still receive a shark-themed birthday card from me every year.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"My youngest son developed a passion for sharks early. By the time he was 18 months old, he…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":1044921,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[8],"tags":[2563,4471,252538,23512,141004,418281,444,268,9105,159,11539,418280,7271,67,132,68,989,1628,200831],"class_list":["post-1044920","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-science","tag-career","tag-child","tag-creature","tag-degree","tag-endeavor","tag-income-today","tag-interest","tag-investment","tag-month","tag-science","tag-shark","tag-sports-themed-clothing","tag-teen","tag-united-states","tag-unitedstates","tag-us","tag-video","tag-year","tag-young-son"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/117218496260130059","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1044920","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1044920"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1044920\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1044921"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1044920"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1044920"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1044920"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}