Parenting: Nailed it or Failed it?

As I well know, most of you out there have been consumed by the drama that is the what’s-her-name-daughter of that actor from the Matrix (and lots of other stuff), doing that skin flick or something like that.. It got me thinking–who gives a shit about what happens to the children of famous people I don’t really care all that much about?

Apparently, lots of people do. It’s what’s known–and I looked this up–as the “Celebrity Culture.” People care! They want to know about the private lives of people they will never meet and who certainly have no interest in meeting them.

An odd ritual in the anthropological register of the Western Civilization, but it exists, I guess, and who am I to fight it?

In that spirit, I give you this from Babble: a list of which celebrity-parents have “nailed it” or “failed it” with respect to their progeny. Kate Hudson/Gold Hawn–NAILED! Charlie Sheen/Emilio Estevez–NOT SO NAILED!

You get the picture. Have a look and imagine how you would feel if a good portion of the entire country was judging your parenting skills.

Published by Theodore

Theodore Ross is an editor of Harper’s Magazine. His writing has appeared in Harper’s, Saveur, Tin House, the Mississippi Review, and (of course), the Vietnam News. He grew up in New York City by way of Gulfport, MS, and as a teen played the evil Nazi, Toht, in Raiders of the Lost Ark: The Adaptation. He lives with his son, J.P. in Brooklyn, and is currently working on a book about Crypto-Jews.

Join the Conversation

2 Comments

  1. Much like the fascination of a car wreck on the highway, people will slow down to gawk at celebrity’s lives. They are in fact the new Royalty of the United States instilled with the love/hate of the country. So it makes sense to be curious about the progeny raising skills of such an exclusive club. As for me, I don’t care but my sentiment as you inferred in your post, is in the minority.

    Vincent| @CuteMonsterDad | CuteMonster.com

    Latest post on CuteMonster – Try Not to Blink

  2. Maybe it makes us feel better as parents to see others colossal failures? That doesn’t work for me but maybe it does for others. I, loike CuteMonsterDad am also in the minority.
    I am not really interested in the parenting skills of people that name their kids Apple and MoxiCrimeFighter.

Leave a comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *