Joel Madden Really, Really, Really Loves His Family
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I’ll admit I have only the vaguest idea of who Joel Madden is (sorry, I don’t listen to whatever music it is he plays), but I do know that he’s shacking up with Nicole Richie, and that they recently had a baby girl, the adorably-if-unwieldy-named Harlow Winter Kate Madden. He recently rhapsodized about love and life and babies on his blog:
I swear it’s so hard to leave during the day, but always so rewarding to come home to the little family. I’ve always been a guy who loves to love.Probably one of the things that define me outside of my work is LOVE. I had no idea what love even was until Harlow came along.
Me and her mother feel like the luckiest two people alive right now. This time in our life has been amazing. We both look at our little girl every single moment everyday and know there is nothing we wouldn’t do to protect her and her perfect little innocence. It seems like you turn on the tv, or get online and its all bad news.
We dont want her to know any of that yet. I actually never want her to know any of the pain and suffering we see out in the world everyday, or how harsh people can be as a result of it. Having this baby has really made me realize we all start out that way, then somewhere along the way something happens and people go one way or the other. But all started out sweet and innocent just like my little daughter. The world could really make you bitter if you let it, but thats where music, and art come in to save the day.
You’ve got to surround yourself with the things you love. The whole point to DCMA and this site is a bunch of us friends doing what we love, surrounding ourselves with positivity. I want my kid to grow up around that.
Well, okay, Joel. I’ll accept that there’s just been a new baby come into your life, and it’s always wonderful to welcome a new, wanted, loved little life into the world. So, as a seasoned veteran of the parenting wars, let me give you a little advice, okay? It’s offered with the best of intentions, really.
First of all, if you want to protect her innocence, the first thing you need to do is get out of the Hollyweird, crazy, fakery-driven lifestyle that you and Nicole are smack in the middle of. I applaud the fact that you quit smoking to protect the health of mama and baby, but there are more dangerous things to worry about than second-hand smoke. Find a quiet place to live, preferably far from the glittering lights. Keep Harlow out of the public eye as much as possible, and give her a chance to live a relatively normal life (as much as is possible with two famous parents).
Next, you’re going to have to realize that as much as you want to, you can’t protect her from knowing about the bad things that go on in the world. In fact, as she gets older, it opens up opportunities for you to talk about how there are bad things that happen, but here’s how to appropriately handle it when they do, and here’s how to keep them from happening or how to keep her from participating in them herself. Trying to shield her from all bad news will just bring up a child who has a warped view of the world, and when she finally does step out on her own she will be totally lost. Music and art are nice, but it’s entirely too hippie-child to think they can “save the day”. I’m a musician and artist myself, but even I know that, at best, they just make the day bearable.
Finally, keep Paris Hilton away from her. I’m serious. There’s nothing good Paris could possibly offer her, except to serve as an example of what NOT to do or what NOT to grow up to be like. Seriously, look at Paris and think, “Will that be Harlow in sixteen years?”
That should be enough right there to scare you into a private cabin surrounded by razor wire on 100 acres in the middle of Wyoming.
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Brilliant! You are on a ROLL!
Comment by D — January 24, 2008 @ 11:51 am
There’s NOTHING wrong with Paris being around that baby. Grow up!
Comment by Ashlee — January 24, 2008 @ 12:41 pm
I can list three things wrong with Paris being around ANY baby: STD.
Enough said.
Comment by D — January 24, 2008 @ 3:08 pm