My daughter has chosen her career......

Your daughter needs to decide for herself what she wants to do. If you influence her decision and she finishes her degree only to not use it because she hates the field, what a waste of time and money.

If she doesn't know what she want to do, encourage her to take her general courses first - since she will end them anyway - and take a few courses that will qualify as electives, but are in the fields she is interested in. You should also encourage her to get a part time job in a field that she thinks she may want to work in.

If she wants to be a ghost hunter and gets an astronomy degree (not quite sure how they two are related in her mind), she can always teach or work in a lab somewhere and do the ghost hunting on the side.

I think it is good she is thinking about all kinds of options now rather than waiting until the last minute or getting a degree just to have one and then not using it.

i wouldnt worry about this at all, i changed my mind loads of times about what i wanted to do as a career when i was young and my children will too just as your daughter will, i wanted to be a vet to begin with untill i realised it wasnt going to just be playing with lots of animals all day and that i would actually have to put some to sleep which i know i wouldnt be able to do so then i decided i wanted to be a doctor but then changed my mind again as i decided i wanted to be more hands on and be a nurse instead, i wanted to be a e.r nurse untill i had my daughter and decided now when they are a little older i want to be a midwife but inbetween changing my mind so many times i have got 11 gcses 4 a levels and a degree in psychology. worked no end of rubbish jobs and done almost everything over the years to pay the bills.
your daughter will change her mind a fair few times before she happily settles into a career.

I think the most important role you have as a mother is to support your children in the paths that they choose to take through life. Being a ghost hunter is not a full time job. Even the guys who do the Ghost Hunters show (one of my favorites..) are plumbers in their full time. Your daughter can still go to college and take up ghost hunting as a past-time.

People who are telling you to take control of their lives need to question their own desire for control in their lives. Do they feel like things have spiraled out of their control and are projecting their desire for restored balance onto you and your life? The most assured way of getting children to fly out of control trying to chase their own dreams is to try and force them onto a path that you have set for them. This is a very dangerous state for a teenager or young adult to be in. They will make poor decisions because of their lack of experience with life and because they feel that any interaction with you will be an attempt to force them to do what you want, they won't feel they have someone wiser and safe to turn to. Children need guidance on their own paths, not yours.

You're right to ignore the naysayers who probably have children out of control. Their children are probably out of control because they (the parents) are so desperate to control them. You can see how this becomes a nasty cycle.

Also remember that A students in high school often have a difficult time adjusting to college. All you can do is support.

My daughter is 20 years old, she's one year from going to med school, her dream is to be a pediatric onoclogist at St. Judes. Its not my first choise for her she's very tender hearted and I think the first patient death will distroy her, but I encourage her decision but have also encouraged her to put an emphasis on research in case that happens. In her spare time she also wants to be a cop and tornado chaser. This is a child that is very focused on her carreer goals, she's done three years of college in two years, has a 4.0 GPA and she wants to be a tornado chaser? You got to let kids have thier fantasy world too, and trust they will make the right choises for the rest of their life.
I'll be a ghost hunter with her, yeap I think it would be the coolest.

snoopy4 when your daughter gets out of college she will'havemade the right decision as you taught her how to do so. no need
to worry about her watching ghosthunter now. its aways
off and she will do you proud I am sure.we do our best to 'rteach our kids the right things then we have to stand off aways'and let them show us that they learned very well from us. they will
'always make us proud of them,

I think your friends need reminding that they were that age once too.
Are they in the Careers they wanted? I doubt it.
This year it's a ghosthunter, next year she'll want to become a top model or a Paeleontologist or go back to wanting to be a Doctor.
As for anyone elses fantasies being crazy, who are they to 'judge'.
Why shouldn't she become a Ghosthunter if that's what she wants? She might be incredibly happy doing that.
If I was you, I'd talk to her about the realities of becoming one as seriously as you discussed becoming a Doctor. Discuss the pro's and con's with her.
To ridicule her ideas or to ban her watching the program wouldn't stop her from wanting to do it. It might even make it seem more glamorous!

I think you've got the right attitude, you know that HOW to make decisions is more important than what those decisions are.

Our children will make their own path and we may not always like the choices they make but we can't make those choices for them.

Kids changed their minds like the wind. I had all sorts of ideas when I was younger. I have ended up being a writer.
You are doing a good job at being positive, which is a good thing and letting her dream.
Ghost hunting is more of a hobby than a career. Otherwise the Ghost Hunter guys wouldn't need to plunge clogged toilets for money.

Isn't it wonderful that we live in a time and place where she's able to reach for the stars and not be constrained by convention? My oldest is going off to college in August to major in musical theatre. Of course my husband and I are worried if she'll ever make a decent living with this. We went to see her in "Aida" (she is Aida) and she's incredible. Right now she's pursuing her dream and I told her to go for it. She's also minoring or double majoring in journalism because she'd like to write on a magazine one day. She's already called Seventeen Magazine and asked them what she needed to do to become one of their writers. I told her to go for it, but be smart about it. At the end of the day, she's still got to eat and pay her rent.

I wouldn't be so worried about her. I doubt that she views ghost-hunting as a full-time job--it's much more likely she'll stick to being a pediatrician as her main source of income. Being obsessed with a TV isn't a big deal; she'll get over it eventually, when the show loses its spice.

These foolish thoughts will only become foolish if she really chooses to act out on them in real life. As of now, it's just an amusing fantasy for her, and there's no need for you to intervene with something she enjoys.

As you said, your daughter will probably outgrow it and find something more practical to do. When I was younger I really wanted to be a veterinarian but my hands shook too much because of my disability. Writing was a more practical career for me because it doesn't matter if my hands shake as long as I can type and if I'm having a bad typing day, which happens more and more frequently lately sadly enough, I can dictate to the people that work for me. My fingers are grateful for this.

The point is, that whatever your kid decides to do your job is to support them as long as it is not illegal or immoral. Whatever my kid wants to be, as long as it meets those two criteria, is fine with me even if it's crazy. The world I guess needs its ghost hunters as well as its doctors.