I realized my oldest son's interest in the original Star Wars movies had grown into a full-blown obsession when he first began incorporating facts about George Lucas' mythology into everyday conversations.

"Mama, it's cold today, like in Hoth.," he said one blustery day in February. Another time he struck a pose, stood very still and said "Look, I'm stuck in carbonite!"

At first, I wanted to yell "Nooooooo, don't do this." We had survived his preschooler infatuation with Clifford the Big Red Dog and Hot Wheels, and then the pirates stage and the prehistoric animals fixation. And now he was all about Star Wars.

I know parents who discourage these intense childhood fixations, thinking it limits their child's interests. But the only sane choice for my family was to give in, to go beyond my junior-high memories of the original trilogy -- that's when I started reading Star Wars Wikis and dictionaries. I had to able to keep up a conversation with my firstborn (and, um, know what in the world he was talking about!).

From my experience, it's perfectly natural for kids to obsess -- whether it's over Elmo or Thomas the Train or Fancy Nancy or later the Disney Princesses, Star Wars, Pokemon, Harry Potter or Twilight -- it's bound to happen dozens of times over a kid's childhood and adolescence.

Chances are, if you allow the High School Musical or Jonas Brothers or Robert Pattinson love to run its course, it will die out eventually (eventually being the operative word). But if you make the temporary obsession forbidden fruit, try to ban the toys, books, posters, ring tones, screen-savers, and other memorabilia, it will probably backfire.

So, just go with the flow -- learn the words to "The Climb," figure out what Volturri and Quileute mean, know which of the four houses in Hogwarts Harry belongs to -- it will go a long way in fostering parent-child bonding.

Plus, being familiar with the subject your kids are fascinated with offers ample opportunities to talk about the themes explored by their favorite book, movie, or TV show. You'd be surprised at the involved, mature conversations by 7-year-old and I have had about the Jedis, Luke's relationship with Han and Leia, the villainy of Emperor Palpatine, you name it.

My son appreciates that I know exactly what he means when he talks about Greedo or Grievous. And if he grows up to create his own world-famous fictional universe, I fully expect him to thank his father and me for not squashing his childhood fascination with Star Wars.