Britney Doesn’t Know What Activities Her Boys Would Like To Do
Well, this explains the chandelier shopping trip yesterday.
IF this story is true (and there’s no indication that it is, although it would explain a lot), Britney Spears has no clue what sort of activities are kid-friendly, and which ones are not:
The custody case judge got on Britney’s case for hauling her two boys out late at night to Starbucks and other such wholesome establishments. He said she is not to take those little children to places mainly patronized by adults. Britney then asked where to take them if not to her normal spots. He admonished her to select child-friendly places where they would have a comfort level. She again inquired like, where? Where do kids want to go? Apparently this nonplussed hizzoner eventually dredged up such suggestions as, a park? Disneyland? It became emotional when, ordered to do kid things with them, this mama seemed unaware of what kid things are.
Now, I realize that there are times when we have to take kids to places that aren’t quite kid-friendly. When my kids were little, I took them to many places such as the grocery store, a restaurant, an insurance office, even a funeral home. I didn’t really have a choice, but I took those opportunities to teach them proper manners in places like those. Sometimes, you just have to bring the kids along and make the best of it.
However, I also didn’t have a nanny or court monitor (which, apparently in Brit’s eyes, is the same thing as a nanny or babysitter) to sit in the car with them while I went inside and picked out $12,000 lighting, either. And I also made time to do things they wanted to do, like go to the park, or to play with their friends, or to the McDonald’s playplace. Or we would just stay home and do kid things…I’m sure Brit has a ton more backyard toys than just that little blue wagon we see her listlessly pulling them around in. I mean, look at her body language and her expression in the photo above…it all screams, “I feel like such a dork with this dumb wagon.” She looks like she’s enjoying that about as much as getting her teeth ground on with a Dremel tool. But wait…that’s not a Brit-centered activity, and the court specifically states “child-centered”.
Their rooms probably look like Toys-R-Us…even though things like blocks and Duplo sets and Little People and Tonka trucks and a Blue’s Clues DVD or two are about all they need. So why not stay home and play with them, and send a minion to Starbucks? She doesn’t even have her kids every day, so why not go shopping for overpriced chandeliers on her own time? Um…HELLO?
Oh wait. I forgot myself for a second there. My bad.
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I read this and it didn’t really surprise me, as astonishing as it sounds. I mean, when do we see her taking them to the park, or to the zoo, or anything kids might like to do?
The ironic thing is, I actually have very fond early childhood memories of being driven around Hollywood late at night by my parents. But I had a more stable home life to begin with.
You know, she evidently didn’t know what little dogs like to do either, since we never saw her taking London for a walk…oh yeah, where IS London, anyway? You know, that little dog she was so attached to? Seen him lately? Hmm, maybe he’s not feeling well? Or maybe she’s figured out that dogs don’t enjoy being dragged around all day? Or maybe he just got too big to be cute anymore? I hope that’s all it is, and he didn’t fall in the pool or something. I shudder at the thought.
Comment by Mitsu — November 6, 2007 @ 10:49 am
Mitsu u- you grew up in H-wood? Must give you quite a bit of insight. Was it a fun place?
Maybe she honestly doesn’t know what child based activities are….beyond WORKING for the Mickey Mouse Club it doesn’t appear that her family did much with her besides sell her bum to the highest bidder. Maybe she doesn’t know what a childhood is.
Comment by ebayer — November 6, 2007 @ 12:30 pm
Oh, I didn’t really “grow up in” Hollywood, I can’t say I actually really grew up anywhere besides mostly California. My mom was from the LA area and she bounced back and forth between living down there and Northern California off and on when I was younger. We lived in the Hollywood/West Hollywood/Laural Canyon area for a bit when I was preschool age, so many of my early memories that start to make the most sense and come into focus are from then. I saw Frank Zappa taking out his trash once. :p
Anyway my childhood wasn’t actually very stable (as you might guess from what I wrote above) but at least I knew my parents wanted me. And I got to do fun kid stuff like going to parks and zoos. And my mom may not have been very qualified for the job, but she did make sure I brushed my teeth, put on a sweater when it was cold, kept my hands away from electrical outlets, etc. The basics are not hard to figure out. And kids that age, as young as they are, would probably be happiest staying home and playing with their toys or watching some cartoons, if you ask me. Or maybe playing with that little dog…what was his name? London?
Comment by Mitsu — November 6, 2007 @ 12:52 pm
Sorry, typo, it should be “Laurel Canyon.”
Comment by Mitsu — November 6, 2007 @ 12:53 pm
No not making excuses – just think that there may be a genuine disconnect there – for multiple reasons. Maybe she thinks going out to dinner and Starbucks is spending genuine family time.
Love northern California. LA had a difficult time with – but the food was GREAT!
Know what you mean tho’ – for some reason she doesn’t consider those kids.
Comment by ebayer — November 6, 2007 @ 1:48 pm
Oh, I didn’t think you were making excuses. You may be right that she didn’t really have much of a childhood herself. It is kind of amazing that someone could be that clueless though. I mean really. I don’t have kids myself, but I think just as a person who lives in the world and pays attention, I could do okay if I suddenly had a 2-year-old and a 1-year-old on my hands for the day.
Comment by Mitsu — November 6, 2007 @ 2:13 pm
Why can’t k be Britney’s court monitor? The positive implications are endless.
Comment by D — November 6, 2007 @ 5:51 pm
You know, I have no doubt that Brit might not know what kids like to do, being as her own childhood was so abbreviated. However, when faced with a situation where one does not quite know what to do, there is a solution…look around, see what other people are doing, and copy that until you learn it yourself. In other words…fake it till you make it. There’s no excuse for her not to learn. Even if she won’t read a parenting manual, she can look around at happy moms and kids and learn from that. She goes out to stores enough, I know she comes into contact with them.
My own dad had a rough childhood and in many ways grew up very early. As a result, he is often uncomfortable around babies, toddlers, and young children, because he just doesn’t understand what to do or is comfortable being in their world. However, he does understand that kids need to do kid things, and when I was young he would sometimes step out of his comfort zone and take me on a kid-friendly activity, or at least arrange it for me to go with someone else. My parents were divorced, and I came to realize that I didn’t have to “do” things with dad, I just enjoyed being with him, but that realization didn’t come until I was older, around the teenage years.
I remember my own childhood, where I was forced to grow up very early and take on adult responsibilities at a young age. I missed out on a lot that kids/teens take for granted. Now that I have teenagers, I’ve been reliving my childhood with them for the past several years, in a sense…I love to do the things they do, and they like having me around. I do know when to step back into the adult world, and that’s very important…SOMEBODY has to be the adult.
And that’s what people like Brit don’t realize…they think they are cutting loose, being free, celebrating the childhood they never had, by running around and acting stupid and getting drunk and falling down and flashing their nether parts and all that. But they can have just as much fun by getting down with their kids and having fun with them and being silly with them. Having kids does not mean your fun is over, and being silly with them can be just as much fun as going out clubbing, and without the hangover later.
Reliving one’s childhood doesn’t mean one has to act stupid, having a bad childhood is no excuse for acting immature as an adult, and growing up doesn’t mean growing old.
Comment by k — November 6, 2007 @ 8:59 pm
my goodness….could she look a little less detached and a little more happy.
Comment by D-Bomb — November 6, 2007 @ 9:58 pm
I love dragging my kids to chandler shops. It’s the MOST fun!
Comment by Hi5 Codes — November 6, 2007 @ 11:50 pm
I’m sure that’s part of it (her not having a real childhood with time spent going to school, playing outside, running around), but like K said — “fake it till you make it.” Heck, that’s what I did.
I don’t like kids, and I don’t “play” and I had to find places that were’t full of screaming kids but fun enough that my child would have a good time.
With a little time online, I found appropriate places to take my daughter when she was smaller that weren’t Chuck-E-Cheese. I remember when my daughter wanted to play Barbies, I’d come up with something else that she enjoyed and that I liked doing. However, sometimes you just gotta grit your teeth and play Barbies, that’s what being a parent is all about — being able to suck it up for the sake of your kid.
As you said, there are times when you’ve got to take them to non-kid friendly places (which have for me, on a couple of occasions even included a bar, but only for a few minutes in the afternoon, because we had business with someone who worked there), but *choosing* to go chandelier shopping during the few hours when you’ve got your kids with you is selfish at best. But hey, it’s not like she left them in the car by themselves. :eye roll:
Comment by crazymom — November 7, 2007 @ 12:57 pm