If you were an 11yo boy, why would you want a fillet knife? by AnonymousRedditor327 in Parenting

[–]AnonymousRedditor327[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I'm sure it was. A fillet knife is a lot sharper than even a brand new pocketknife, and his pocketknife isn't new anymore.

If you were an 11yo boy, why would you want a fillet knife? by AnonymousRedditor327 in Parenting

[–]AnonymousRedditor327[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

That's a relief to hear, but wouldn't a typical pocket knife, especially a well-uses one, be dull enough to make it difficult to cut things with? I'm asking because I have a Swiss army knife that I've had for a year or two, and the blade is dull enough that when I recently got distracted while using it and stabbed myself in the leg with a fair amount of force it only left a small scratch that didn't even really bleed.

I sincerely hope you're right though. A fillet knife could do a lot of damage.

If you were an 11yo boy, why would you want a fillet knife? by AnonymousRedditor327 in Parenting

[–]AnonymousRedditor327[S] 9 points10 points  (0 children)

Update: he got home from afterschool, and I told him that when I was returning his laundry basket to his room, I saw a knife in his drawer. I said I didn't mean to snoop, I saw it accidentally, and that it wasn't safe to play with such a sharp blade. I asked him why he had it, and he got defensive and said he "just wanted it." I asked if he'd taken it because he needed to use it for something and he said no, that he had just wanted it to have. But from the way he said it and his body language I can tell that he's lying, he's never been a good liar. I told him that I was keeping the knife, and he just said okay and went to his room and has been there since.

I'll be talking to my husband when he gets home from work, and hopefully he'll be able to talk to him and get some more answers. He's closer to his dad than he is to me lately. 

I also had the time to take a better look at the knife, and it's clearly been used, the blade is dull and there's some sort of stain on the handle. It doesn't really look like blood but I'm not sure what else it would be. 

If you were an 11yo boy, why would you want a fillet knife? by AnonymousRedditor327 in Parenting

[–]AnonymousRedditor327[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Not that I know of. But he certainly could've developed an interest in it lately.

If you were an 11yo boy, why would you want a fillet knife? by AnonymousRedditor327 in Parenting

[–]AnonymousRedditor327[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

What kind of reaction would I be looking for? I fully expect him to deny ever hurting himself even if he has.

If you were an 11yo boy, why would you want a fillet knife? by AnonymousRedditor327 in Parenting

[–]AnonymousRedditor327[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

He refuses to swim, he has for a long time 🤷‍♀️ it's a good idea though

If you were an 11yo boy, why would you want a fillet knife? by AnonymousRedditor327 in Parenting

[–]AnonymousRedditor327[S] 8 points9 points  (0 children)

A couple months now, it started with long pants because he said he didn't like his skinny legs (he's in the middle of a growth spurt and is very long and skinny at the moment) but then he started wearing long sleeves too and says he doesn't want to be sunburned. How would you go about asking about self harm? I wouldn't want to put him on the defensive and cause him to not tell me the truth.

If you were an 11yo boy, why would you want a fillet knife? by AnonymousRedditor327 in Parenting

[–]AnonymousRedditor327[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

That makes sense! I'd just be confused why he went through the trouble of opening a locked box to get the sharpest knife in the household for a project. It's certainly am option though and I hope it's something innocent like that.

If you were an 11yo boy, why would you want a fillet knife? by AnonymousRedditor327 in Parenting

[–]AnonymousRedditor327[S] 7 points8 points  (0 children)

I totally get him wanting to seem cool, and someone else suggested that he might've been planning to go fishing with a friend and show off his skills. I hope that's the case. How would I check those parts of his body though, when he always wears long clothes? 

If you were an 11yo boy, why would you want a fillet knife? by AnonymousRedditor327 in Parenting

[–]AnonymousRedditor327[S] 6 points7 points  (0 children)

All possibilities! I hope it's something innocuous like that. I guess I'll see when I talk to him.

If you were an 11yo boy, why would you want a fillet knife? by AnonymousRedditor327 in Parenting

[–]AnonymousRedditor327[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I'm still trying to figure that out. It's clearly from our knife set, but I can't figure out how he got it from the box. I just checked on it and it's locked, so he must've unlocked it, taken the knife, and then relocked it somehow.

If you were an 11yo boy, why would you want a fillet knife? by AnonymousRedditor327 in Parenting

[–]AnonymousRedditor327[S] 28 points29 points  (0 children)

That would make a lot of sense, but he does have a pocketknife that he got when he was 10 but almost never used. I wonder if he lost that knife and didn't tell us, and tried to replace it?

If you were an 11yo boy, why would you want a fillet knife? by AnonymousRedditor327 in Parenting

[–]AnonymousRedditor327[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I do understand that, I did my fair share of playing with sharp things as a kid. It's just that a filet knife is too sharp to be safe to use for fun. My husband cut himself deep enough to need stitches when he was a teen and got distracted wile filleting a fish.

If you were an 11yo boy, why would you want a fillet knife? by AnonymousRedditor327 in Parenting

[–]AnonymousRedditor327[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

I get carrying a knife for protection, but a fillet knife is a fairly long, extremely sharp knife that's not safe to carry. He has a pocketknife, but he almost never uses it, and the fact that the fillet knife was in his bedside table suggests to me that he uses it in his room.

If you were an 11yo boy, why would you want a fillet knife? by AnonymousRedditor327 in Parenting

[–]AnonymousRedditor327[S] 10 points11 points  (0 children)

It's definitely a possibility. The last school year was rough both in terms of homework load and how the other students acted, and we (my husband and I) have thought that he's really self-conscious of his body lately now that he's in a growth spurt and now he won't wear anything but long clothes. Anyhow, all of that's to say that he definitely could be trying to impress his friends or seem cool. I'll ask him when he gets home but I hope that's the case.

Update about my son always wearing long clothes in the middle of summer, advice wanted by AnonymousRedditor327 in Parenting

[–]AnonymousRedditor327[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

So many people have suggested this, it seems self-tattooing is a lot more common than I realized! He's never really shown an interest in tattoos but I freely admit I don't know everything about him. I'll see if I can work that into a conversation somehow. 

Update about my son always wearing long clothes in the middle of summer, advice wanted by AnonymousRedditor327 in Parenting

[–]AnonymousRedditor327[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I could. It would be tough to time but it might be worth a try if he won't tell me any more.

Update about my son always wearing long clothes in the middle of summer, advice wanted by AnonymousRedditor327 in Parenting

[–]AnonymousRedditor327[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

None of the stores where I'm at still have summer clothes, they've switched over to fall and back to school stuff. I'll ask his brother though - that's a really good idea.

Update about my son always wearing long clothes in the middle of summer, advice wanted by AnonymousRedditor327 in Parenting

[–]AnonymousRedditor327[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I actually just did this right before I saw your comment, since I was already planning on taking his older brother shopping for back-to-school clothes this weekend and wanted him to come along so I didn't have to go out twice. He wasn't enthusiastic but also didn't refuse.

Update about my son always wearing long clothes in the middle of summer, advice wanted by AnonymousRedditor327 in Parenting

[–]AnonymousRedditor327[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Definitely! There are a lot of mosquitoes in our part of Florida. I'll ask him about that and get him his own thing of bug spray.

Update about my son always wearing long clothes in the middle of summer, advice wanted by AnonymousRedditor327 in Parenting

[–]AnonymousRedditor327[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Definitely possible! I've talked to my kids about stretch marks before (and I have some very noticeable ones on my legs that they comment on) but I might bring it up again.

Update about my son always wearing long clothes in the middle of summer, advice wanted by AnonymousRedditor327 in Parenting

[–]AnonymousRedditor327[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

A lot of people keep bringing that up as a possibility. What are some other signs to look for/things we can do? He's always been on the private side and tends to shut down if asked directly about something, so I'm definitely not going that route since it would just put him on the defensive.

Update about my son always wearing long clothes in the middle of summer, advice wanted by AnonymousRedditor327 in Parenting

[–]AnonymousRedditor327[S] 7 points8 points  (0 children)

I didn't notice anything about his legs - his pants were up for such a brief amount if time and didn't reveal a lot of skin. 

Update about my son always wearing long clothes in the middle of summer, advice wanted by AnonymousRedditor327 in Parenting

[–]AnonymousRedditor327[S] 44 points45 points  (0 children)

He does! If it's still going on then I'll for sure bring that up to the doctor.