What a way for those two boys to grow up — with their immature parents in the spotlight and their mama doing such bad, sad things because she can barely keep it together for herself. (Maybe the “barely” is no longer a qualifier?) I hope the situation improves for her sons and her. As you say, fortunately there are plenty of good single mothers out in the world. It’s just too bad the celebrity media (generally) finds the success stories less interesting to write about than those who struggle or fail.

i agree…it is really sad the way it seems to have turned out…what always gets me is that kids never asked for any of this…yet they are smack in the middle of such a huge mess…and all they want is to be happy normal kids who deserve the best…and want their parents to love them…i really hope that someone does the right thing for those kids…

I am going to write about this too — so many thoughts swirling around from feeling so bad for her to thinking she played right into Federline’s hands and shame on her.

It really comes down to this. The Court specified several requirements: drug/alchohol testing; time with a parenting coach; getting a valid driver’s license; therapy. Britney apparently complied with none of these Court directives. Judges, in general, expect to be respected and their orders obeyed. Britney is not “making the rules” in this environment. When her lawyer dropped her a couple of weeks ago, the handwriting was on the walll. My heart goes out to these kids. I saw a picture of the two of them holding hands —for dear life–in the back of the car. They looked dazed and confused. Many celebrities moves out of LA to avoid the media spolight on their children. I hope Kevin makes this choice and gives his kids a shot at a normal life.

Britney Spears is childish and selfish. She should have gotten all of the ridiculously irresponsible behavior out of her system before she had children—or, perhaps not had any at all. They don’t deserve to be involved with something like this. It’s unsettling for children, confusing, and downright unfair for them to be taken from their mother for something like this.
But as the saying goes, “Growing old is mandatory. Growing up is optional.”

I’m not sure why we should judge her. It may not be fair to her kids. But why pity those kids in particular? What about all those other children belonging to mothers who can’t seem to pull off parenting? Life is not fair. Honestly, I’m not sure the purpose of pity. And I imagine judging Britney makes us feel better about ourselves as mothers who have self-esteem problems.

Sarah,
Thanks for this. After I posted this, I sat back and saw that I was being quite harsh. I pride myself on not judging other moms.
Thanks for getting me to ask: why should I handle myself differently with a celebrity?
You’re right: what is the purpose of pity?
Rachel

Rachel,
That’s just it: You shouldn’t handle yourself differently with a celebrity. This doesn’t have anything to do with being in the public eye. It has to do with being a good parent, period. And while I agree that no one should judge anyone else, I DO pity those kids (as well as the “other children belonging to mothers who can’t seem to pull off parenting”) because those children’s chances of having a normal, successful life are much less than the children who are reared by stable parents. It’s a fact—statistics prove it. And pity isn’t positive thinking, which I advocate, nor is it purposeful. It’s simply an emotion predicated from unfortunate, undesirable circumstances.
Lexi’s Mom