ZAPPA THE MAN: Unorthodox views & lifestyle lead to unorthodox parenting.

Without a doubt, the most interesting stories I have heard about Frank Zappa are his child-rearing habits.  Frank and Gail believed that children were adults too and free to make their own decisions and do their own thing.  Moon Unit once went to school with her underwear on her head.  All the Zappas walked around their home naked.  Dweezil changed his name back to Dweezil of his own volition when he was 5.  The children were never really watched while in the house - both Frank and Gail were too busy (especially Frank, who worked all night and slept all day, and hated being disturbed, even by his own children).  Frank and Gail even allowed their children to watch porn and often watched it with them - Zappa had very strong views on open sexuality, stemming from his sexually restrictive Catholic upbringing.

While such a free environment may sound enlightening and like every kid's dream, it wasn't.  According to Barry Miles, Moon Unit spent her whole childhood wishing that her family was normal.  She never invited friends over because she feared they would see her father walking around naked.  She wished Gail would tuck her into bed.  She often begged to be given a curfew.  This craving for normalcy was something that would plague Moon for a long time.  Not everyone wants freedom - sometimes people, especially children, want boundaries.  Zappa's unorthodox views may have been good in theory, but they were not appreciated by all, and this is a prime example of the negative side of his liberal lifestyle.