Writing is a widely accepted therapy tool. Chances are if you ended up in someone's office with a diagnosis of depression, the very FIRST thing they would do is urge you to go out and write.
Therefore: Your father should be pleased that you're sitting down and writing the things that you think and feel. I know that's one of the main reasons the psychiatrist that I saw felt that I was so well-adjusted and not really in need of therapy. I write.
Not everyone ends up like Poe, after all.
So tell your father he ought to do some reading on the modern teenager and writing. As long as he sticks to sources who know what they're talking about not only will it keep him out of your hair, he might learn something valuable about you in the process.
Not all parents are as reasonable as mine, however, so I'm not sure how well this advice will work.
FYI: I am not an only child, but I was eldest. My younger brother moved away from home at 16, out of the state at 18 and is now happily married at age 22. Thanks to their parenting he was always a straight A student, a nationally recognized athelete, on the Dean's list at college and a very sweet and well-adjusted young man.
So giving your children control over their own life, as long as you've done a good job being a parent thus far, can work and it has nothing to do with their writing habits and/or methods of self-expression.
But it's all based on trust, frankly.
Good luck.
(Sorry for the extended rant. My parents also raised me not to be afraid to air my opinions to the defenseless masses. I didn't really mean to use your livejournal as a podium, however. Feel free to delete these once you've read them.)
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regna
Parental rant II
Date: 2002-11-03 07:18 am (UTC)Therefore: Your father should be pleased that you're sitting down and writing the things that you think and feel. I know that's one of the main reasons the psychiatrist that I saw felt that I was so well-adjusted and not really in need of therapy. I write.
Not everyone ends up like Poe, after all.
So tell your father he ought to do some reading on the modern teenager and writing. As long as he sticks to sources who know what they're talking about not only will it keep him out of your hair, he might learn something valuable about you in the process.
Not all parents are as reasonable as mine, however, so I'm not sure how well this advice will work.
FYI: I am not an only child, but I was eldest. My younger brother moved away from home at 16, out of the state at 18 and is now happily married at age 22. Thanks to their parenting he was always a straight A student, a nationally recognized athelete, on the Dean's list at college and a very sweet and well-adjusted young man.
So giving your children control over their own life, as long as you've done a good job being a parent thus far, can work and it has nothing to do with their writing habits and/or methods of self-expression.
But it's all based on trust, frankly.
Good luck.
(Sorry for the extended rant. My parents also raised me not to be afraid to air my opinions to the defenseless masses. I didn't really mean to use your livejournal as a podium, however. Feel free to delete these once you've read them.)