Replies to '08/22 The Dr. Phil House: "Make My Kid a Star"'

I probably won't watch, just another show about parents who want to live vicariously through their kids, though I do worry about the kids who won't "Measure Up" so to speak, its one thing to encourage and support your child's dreams and aspirations, but I wonder if Dakota Fanning's Mother might be able to shed some light on the reality of stardom, I mean how do you keep the child grounded, when Mom is walking around with the dollar signs or stars in her eyes.

Lindsay Lohan

Brittany Spears

Dana Plato

Michael Jackson

Does anyone know what these people all have in common ?

I way past agree with you here.  Judging from the previews, the way these moms act like drill sargeants with these kids, I can't conceivably imagine that this is what the kids really want, but we'll have to see here.  About these moms, I'm thinking that they a) realized earlier on that they lacked the talent to make it in show business or b) had their kids and, in some cases, were left single moms too soon in life to actually realize their talents and dreams, therefore they feel they MUST LIVE VICARIOUSLY through their children!  It's really disturbing, and again, judging from the previews and the attitudes of these moms, they are no better than the football and hockey dads who run out on the field to belittle the referee or harm the other player who stopped their kid's play, or worse, harangue the kid him/herself for ONE ITTY-BITTY SCREW-UP!  This is one reason why, if I had kids of my own, I would actually discourage them from participating in sports; I'll take them to a gym for exercise.

 

One mom actually says that her daughter begs her to push her.  Seriously, what child would actually say this.  Either that kid's been doing some serious drugs, or Mama's using this as an excuse to justify her means.

 

I'm an aspiring writer, and if I discovered that my child inherited my writing talent.... well, yeah, I'd be a "Literacy Parent" to encourage them to make a living with this talent, but I wouldn't be one of THOSE literacy parents.  For starters, I'd let my kids decide for themselves what to read, and give them certain books when I feel they're old enough to read them (Catcher in the Rye, for example.)  Why, the worst I'd do is encourage them to do poorly in Math and Science, and not even LOOK at those marks on the report card.  (I never really cared for Math all that much in high school and besides, you don't need Math to be a novelist anyway.)  I just wonder what Dr. Phil has to say about THESE types of parents.

I cannot understand, for the life of me, why any mother would want her child to be in show business.  Don't you ever read the tabloids or watch E?  These are shallow, depressed, and depressing people.  They are soulless shells who do drugs, abuse alcohol, and lead lives of degradation and moral depravity.  Why would you want your child involved with that?  Why wouldn't you want your child to be a teacher, a nurse, a counselor, a social worker, a doctor, a researcher, anything that adds to the goodness in the world?   Why would you want your child to grow up to be a derelict?  Even the stars who have their own personal act together lead very odd lives where they can't walk through an airport, go to a movie, or even walk into a grocery store without being attacked by papparazzi and other onlookers.  Who would want to live like that?  Give me my quiet walks around the lakes, my close circle of family and friends, and a life of peace and doing good for others.  Hollywood?   EEEEEWWWWWWW!!!!!