Re: Being a goth parent of a healthy child...

Hmm.  I rather fall into the 'don't worry' camp as well.

I suppose it rather depends on what those 'darker elements' are.

I grew up in an agnostic/atheistic environment and had to deal with some 
really big issues all of a sudden in my mid-teens.  I hope that my 
children will grow up with some fundamental truths in place so that they 
won't come as a shock to them.  Which possibly means that they will end 
up less goth than not.

But then I'm not as goth as many anyway.  I was always on the 
intellectual end anyway; and as a 'voice for hire' in my teens I tended 
not to go gigging/clubbing anyway as it was all a bit too much like 
work!  And these days I'm so totally out of touch with 'the scene' (not 
to mention the lack of babysitters!) and local friends are definitely 
not the gigging/clubbing types (nice middle england yummy mummies 
mostly, with commuting hubbies)....  The most goth thing I've done all 
year is go to a 'gothic mass' at a festival.

Mind you - I'm getting used to being the different one so my dress is 
slowly getting back to how it was pre-children (that and I have more 
cash and better sewing skills).   Most of the people I know here are 
nice middle england mummies with commuting hubbies and usually 10 or so 
years older than me (if they have a child the age of my eldest).  TBH 
I'm dying to get back to city living of some sort (and decent public 
trans****t!!) and we are making plans to head back up the A21 into 
London...

With the exception of a few extreme elements, I think 'goth' is a fairly 
healthy way to be.  My children dress for themselves (DD1 has a thing 
for *bright* pink, although she chooses to wear dark jeans/tops most of 
the time and both DD's share my passion for purple), DS is a bit young 
to decide yet :-)

Yours,
-- 
Helen Armfield
helen@[EMAIL PROTECTED]