When teenagers assert themselves, crazy hair cuts or wear ridiculous clothing, parents need to know that that's not only expected, it could be a sign of something positive.

"They are testing out their identities and trying to find who they are. Things like this occur in every child's life where they are going to start to exhibit some signs of independence and it's a stage every child needs to go through and in some way you should be pretty happy when they start expressing individuality," said
Dr. Manny Cirenza.

It can be odd hair color, weird clothes but some gravitate toward the gothic look, what's a parent do then?

"When a child is into things like black fingernail polish or some of the more Goth type of persona, I think that you really shouldn't press the panic button at first but like many things, I do think you have to be careful to communicate with them," Cirenza said.

Cirenza says while the Goth look can be just a short phase, it can be a sign of trouble, mainly depression drug use or suicide, and this is the time to talk to your kids.

"Let them know how you feel about it and when they know and understand how you feel about it, hopefully they can respond to that and reassure where they stand," said Cirenza

Watch for signs of withdrawal from friends, family or poor grades, otherwise, if teen seems upbeat and well adapted; it's probably safe to give them some space.

Allow your teenager some freedom. It's a good idea to set some standards, a good time to do that is right after school.

"I think for children, school is their place of business and so much like most of us, we dress a certain way when we go to work, for them going to school, that is them going to work and then when they are home thee can kind of let their hair down a little bit and have a little fun and wear something a little bit more silly," Cirenza said.