You’ve been on a few dates with this new guy you met online and everything seems to be going great. He’s hot, funny, and charming but something seems to feel off – the more time you spend around him, the more you start to notice a few red flags.
He’s not as mature as you would like him to be, his emotional intelligence isn’t the best and he’s not that great with money. Does this sound familiar? Well, you could be dating a man-child.
A man-child is simply a man who acts like a 4-year-old and takes no responsibility for his own life.
Want to find out more? Pippa Murphy, the sex and relationship expert at condoms.uk shares her top eight red flags to look out for when you think you’ve encountered a man-child.
1. He can’t hold down a job
If your new boo can’t hold down a job for very long it could be because he doesn’t take his responsibilities seriously enough to do what it takes to keep it. He also may have been fired from multiple jobs due to poor performance or other issues related to his immaturity.
2. He has little to no ambition or a drive for success
Have you noticed that your partner is either constantly unemployed or working a dead-end job with no future prospects for advancement? Well, he probably doesn’t have any goals for himself and is unable to hold down a job for very long because he doesn’t take his responsibilities seriously enough to do what it takes to keep them.
3. He’s unreliable when it comes to money
If you’re dating a man-child, you might find yourself worrying about how much money he makes each month because if he doesn’t make enough, then he won’t be able to pay his bills on time — or at all — which means there could be trouble ahead. He’s also likely to be someone who is cheap and frugal when it comes to spending money on anything other than himself. If you go out on dates with this guy, don’t expect him to spend much money on you or give you any gifts at all.
4. He’s not emotionally supportive
This man will not support you emotionally. You feel like he doesn’t care about what’s going on in your life because all he does is focus on himself and his own problems. He never shows empathy for the struggles you go through and instead makes fun of them or uses them as an opportunity to brag about how well he handles stress.
5. He doesn’t take responsibility for his actions
A man-child blames everyone else for his mistakes, never taking responsibility for them himself. He’ll blame you, his boss at work, or even the weather if something bad happens — and he never takes any responsibility himself because he’s too busy making excuses.
6. He’s jealous of other men
Immature men aren’t very secure with themselves and constantly worry about whether other guys are better than them. He might get jealous when you talk to another man or even just look at one in a way that could be interpreted as flirting. He’ll accuse you of cheating on him even though there’s no evidence whatsoever to support his claims.
7. He has no interest in doing anything productive or creative
If you’re dating a man-child, you’ll find that he spends all his free time in front of the TV, watching it and playing video games. He might say that he has a job and is just trying to relax after work, but if this is all he does with his time then it makes you wonder what else he does with his life.
He doesn’t have any hobbies besides watching TV shows and movies, so this could be a sign of boredom in other areas of his life. He’s not a very social person either. If you try to get him involved in any type of activity that takes place outside the house, he refuses because he doesn’t want to leave the comfort of his own home.
8. His parents still do his laundry, cooking, and cleaning
This man does not have any responsibilities and won’t think about doing these things for himself or asking someone else to do them for him. When he finally moves out of his parent’s house, chances are that he won’t know how to cook or clean properly. And if you do decide to move in together with this guy, expect him to expect you to take care of these tasks while he sits around watching TV all day.