Goth

A couple of years ago, Oldest discovered the My Sister is a Vampire series.  He laughed his way through it, and I was glad he enjoyed reading. 

Then Youngest found it.

To put this into perspective, keep in mind that these are some of the first full length chapter books that followed such smaller chapter books like The Magic Tree House series.  I didn't think too much about it because I would hear him laughing, or occasionally he would quote a line he found quite funny. 

Yesterday, however I had my first doubts about his reading ma,terial. We were riding in the car and Youngest was reading in the back seat.  I saw him closely examining  the picture on the front cover and said, "You know, I think I'd look good as a Goth."

Now this baby faced beauty is the farthest thing from Goth.  His smile perks me up, his blond hair, when cut and not shaggy, makes him look like Opie.  And when he goes to church in a nice shirt and tie, he looks a bit like someone who could be hired by Donald Trump.

Goth?  My breath caught in my throat.

There are moments when parents face a difficult decision.  If you tell a kid not to do something, will you make him more likely to do it?  Clearly the best management tool for a parent is to make the child think it is his choice to act in the right way, or to dress handsomely. 

"Oh!" I exclaimed.  "I hope you don't do that. Goth is not a good look for you."

He rankled a bit.  "I think I'd look good.  Look.  I don't smile a lot anyway."  He practiced frowning and looking "Goth." 

"But I love your smile!" I almost whined. "It makes my day so happy when you smile at me. Why it makes my heart just fill with joy.  And you have the kind of face that makes people smile and feel good all day!"

"Oh!" He perked up dramatically.  Then I could see in the rear view mirror that he was practicing smiling, looking at his reflection in the window.  He even laughed a little, and then giggled.  Clearly Goth was on its way out.

Now I'm not saying that young people who sport the Goth look are bad or ugly. But it's just not the kind of look I want running around our house, especially on the face of someone who is shorter than me.  

So for today I have him convinced that he is too good looking to put into harm's way.  I wonder what tomorrow will bring.  Piercings, weird clothes, or worse?  I hope I make the right management choice when it comes along.