sjr

did anybody else see this?

of course the focus was on brittany spears....bless her heart...(southern slang in the mornnin' for ya).

she obviously has many problems. but as i was sitting there watching the show and nodding my head to the things all the experts we're saying...what got the bulk of my attention was when they focused on her mom....saying something to the effect, that the mom should be focusing on her parenting skills, with one daughter in turmoil, and another pregnant.

maybe the mom in be got defensive for her i don't know....these girls definately grew up in a 'not your adverage' lifestyle...but...who was going oh yeah brittany's mom is great when she was at the peak of her success....now she has a problem with addiction...and mom's parenting skills are being questioned....burns me up!!!

before my daughter used, and she a polite, popular, cheerleader (since she was 5)...you get what a great job you have done at raising her alone...

now that she uses....that mom must have done something wrong. everybody has an opinion...my favs come from people who don't even have kids....'just send her to boot camp' being most popular....the you should, ' cause this is what i would do even though i have no idea in h*ll what i am talking about suggestions.

here's what you should do...fill in blank....well holy smoke...WHAT AN ABSOLUTE MARVELOUS IDEA!! i hadn't thought of that.!!! ~~~whatever...been there, done that.

just ranting on this morning. it just got under my skin.

i don't know what kind of mother brittany's mom is...but hey...i learned here...she didn't cause it, she can't control it, and she can't cure it

if i had her number i invite her to join us....

end of rant

puddinface

I can relate! I know that some of my co-workers who have the "Golden children" have looked at me like I wasnt strict enough...or maybe I didnt teach him to be responsible enough, or my divorce, etc. I keep telling them...never make judgements against anyones children! It can come around and slap ya right in the face!

BrokenBridges24

I agree. It is a sad situation and it gets worse and worse. I have no idea what kind of mother Britney's mom is but if you want my honest opinion I think she is abused by her daughter..like many of us our by our kids...I mean emotionally abused because of the drugs and their life choices. What is she really to do? no matter what way she turns she is under a spot light. Britney can not even go to the car without a hundred or more people surrounding her with pictures and flashing bulbs. I do not use drugs but that would be enough to drive me over the edge. THe camera loves her screw ups. They are all over her. There is no way for her to hit bottom or get better what a million people are so focused on her and encouraging her to mess up more and more. It is sad. How can the mother control her? she can not force her to stay in these places. She proves that when she walks out minutes after she is checked in. The whole thing is a awful mess. I feel very sorry for them all. But you are so on the mark...the mother did not cause it, she can not control it and she certainly can not cure it. I am sure she would cure it if she could.. We all would do that. But there is only one person that can help Britney and that is Britney.
As a smart person once told me... it is so easy to be a couch on the side line and give direction to others but until you are dead in the game... you have no clue what is going on.

Broken

sjr

i had one of those "golden children"...she's a little tarnished right now...i have faith she will shine again...

cece1960

I agree completely, and had I been tuned in it would have irked me too.
And why is it never dad's fault?

PeaceTrain

My heart breaks for Brittney as well. She is a mother herself. I pray that she will get the help she needs to live her life in a wholesome way. It is too bad that they are blaming her mother etc. We all know as mothers of children who have had or have problems with addiction, we have blamed ouselves as well. With the help of the 12 Steps I have found strength to move beyond the blame game. With the media frenzy focused on Brittney and her problems, it may, if they ask the proper experts, focus the attention on the problems of addiction within our society without doing the Blame Game.
Stay Strong - This Too Shall Pass..

tryingtoheal

...but I still ended up an addict.

SJR, I'm sorry that you feel defensive about being blamed as the parent. That would suck! You have sort of opened my eyes to the fact that a similar situation probably happened to my parents when I was in rehab or whenever someone new finds out that I had problems with drugs.

I cannot blame my parents for anything. I made the choice to swallow all those pills!

Thanks for bringing your feelings to light - I am going to go hug my parents right now and remind them how awesome they are!!!

Spiritual Seeker

When I use to see homeless addicts on the street I thought "how did their families let them get to this level?" When my son was heroin/crack user I often didn't even know where he was.
Now that I have walked a mile in those shoes, I know that parents are powerless over the progression of addiction and often the addict alienates himself from his family.
The Brittany case is another example where mental illness and drug abuse appear to be linked.

Ann

I didn't see that show, but I too have been irritated by the comments I have heard many times in the media about her mom and like most of the moms here I KNOW that her mom is powerless over her daughters' choices.

We call those who have been untouched by addiction "earth people" who have no clue about the impact of addiction on the entire family and the helplessness of those who love an addict. As angry as I get when I hear those remarks, my prayers go out that they never find out what it is like to have an addicted loved one. I know if they did, they would think and speak differently.

My prayers go out for Brittany also, she's a lost soul who lives in the darkness of addiction and can't find her way out. I fear that if she doesn't surrender soon, she will lose her life to the disease as so many sad souls have.

I am grateful that at least her children are being cared for, it's the helpless children who really touch my heart.

Hugs