Josh Johnson

I have, actually, been on the other side of this. When I was in my mid-teens, my family decided that it would be a good idea to sit me down, intervention-style, and confront me about the 'horrible' things I was into; things like the movie 'The Crow', music like 'Nine Inch Nails' and books like 'Harry Potter' and 'LOTR'. Since I've grown up and started my own family, my mother has told me that she regrets handling things the way that they did. I can't say that it necessarily strengthened my resolve to listen to what I wanted to and be independent, but it did not in any way lessen my interests in the things I liked. The best advice that I can give is to look at your child and base any decisions off of what you see, not what you think others are seeing. I still listen to a lot of the same music and enjoy the same types of books and movies. In fact, my musical tastes have broadened considerably and I listen to a good mixture of metal and melody, ranging from Dethklok to Sara Watkins to Mumford & Sons. Just hang in there and don’t do anything rash based solely on what you think others might be thinking. My interests grew over time and it had nothing to do with what anyone in my family was putting in front of me. Hopefully this helps, but if you ever need a little insight into the other perspective, hit me up.