@makemesmart , @bridgenail (as usual) nailed it (no pun intended)–“It would be like telling a cheetah not to run.” No one has ever accused me of being practical, but I do believe that everyone has a gift. Some are more fortunate than others because their gifts become apparent early on and they can pursue them with everything they’ve got. To have people–family, especially–who fully support them in those pursuits is invaluable.
Yes, as @HereWeGoAgain2018 indicated, things can go wrong. But that is true of almost any pursuit.
The last thing I would want my son to feel when he’s older is that he never got to fully pursue what he loves the most and does well at, because I discouraged him from trying. Maybe it won’t work out, or maybe it will lead him down roads he never expected it would, or maybe he’ll be wildly successful. But as far as I’m concerned there are few things sadder than realizing when it’s too late that you never got to try to pursue what was truly meaningful to you.
Certainly you would want to make sure that your son understands all the possible pitfalls along the way, and ask him to think deeply about whether it’s really what he wants to do. But in the end, in my opinion, it’s his life and his decision to trust the universe with his dreams.
Whenever we run into difficulties, I always remind my son what I learned fairly late in life–almost nothing happens that can’t be remedied, if you relax and let things take their course. I guess I’m kind of a Taoist in that regard!
Just my own opinion, of course. You know your child.