Teen

So here's something I've been wondering about, as a parent: What do you do if your teen develops an interest or hobby that's not necessarily bad, as far as you can tell, but it's ... really weird? Like, she's not doing drugs or stealing or skipping class -- she's not doing anything technically wrong at all -- but for some reason whatever her new thing is just makes you super uncomfortable. Gives you the creeps. Sends off warning bells in your head.

Because that's how I would expect 15-year-old Venus Angelic's mother to feel. The London teen's passion is dressing like a ball-jointed doll. Yes. A ball-jointed doll.

I'm out of the loop, I guess, because I had no idea this ball-jointy doll fascination even existed, but apparently it does, and apparently people are into it, and there are so many of them that Venus Angelic's how-to videos on YouTube are a viral sensation. (The clips are mostly makeup and costume tutorials.)

Venus Angelic says she was inspired by "a love of Japanese anime culture." And her actual mom thinks it's "cute." (!!!???)

But let's say her mom didn't think it was cute. Because I wouldn't! But I also wouldn't want to make my daughter feel bad about herself or like she was doing something to be ashamed of just because the "how to look like a ball-jointed doll" videos she THOUGHT she was making were actually "how to build a fan base of grown men with a disturbing fetish" videos.

I mean, watch this:

Maybe I would just tell Venus Angelic the truth. I'd hate to rob a kid of her blissful ignorance but I guess the fact is, at 15 years old, innocence is a luxury teens can't really afford. I guess it's our job to tell our kids when something they're doing could be misinterpreted and why.

Before they find out the hard way.

What would you do if your kid made the same kind of videos as Venus Angelic?

Image via VenusAngelic/YouTube