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LET'S DIM OCTUPLET MOM'S TV SPOTLIGHT
Published On 02-07-2009 , 8:45 PM
IT'S difficult to determine what's to be said about a 33-year-old woman who would add a set of octuplets to the six children she was already attempting to parent as a single mom.
The sane among us know that the job of being a mom to just one kid takes an incredible slice out of the usual definition of the word sane and all of us feel blessed when our offspring reach adulthood and we still have our own sanity.
Raising kids ain't no slam-dunk!
Nadya Suleman of Whittier, the mother of this unfortunate brood, must surely have some severe mental problems - or perhaps she's simply seeking that elusive 15 minutes of fame and then multiplying it by 14.
While she claims this brood of hers is a dream come true and it will make up for her dysfunctional childhood, I'm wondering why she's not discussing her dysfunctional adulthood.
If dysfunctional is seen as not performing the function that is normally expected, then we've got this mom pegged.
If delusional is having a poor understanding or even a mistaken belief about things, then Nadya Suleman clearly fits this, my second, mother-wit diagnosis.
This mom of eight newborns who will, among other unyielding chores, be busy changing diapers at 2 a.m. and feeding all those hungry little screechers, plans to make millions doing the talk show circuit, landing endorsements and becoming a media child-care expert.
While I have no love for the television media because of the nonsense they are always throwing at viewers, I want to believe they surely have more sense than Suleman does and they will not put her in the limelight.
But maybe I'm wrong. Maybe I'm the one who is delusional. Fox News reports Suleman is being swamped with offers for book deals, TV shows and other business proposals.
To handle this up-coming media blitz (may it never come to fruition, though she was already on "Today"), Suleman has retained the Killeen Furtney Group, a public relations firm, to take care of the alleged offers that are said to be arriving daily.
The firm says their new client is "the most sought-after mom in the world right now."
Now where was I before I made the error of believing the media, for once, might be on the side of what's important in life?
Oh, yes, this column started as a commentary on the joys and jobs of motherhood and more specifically those of single motherhood.
To put it simply, this single mom assisted by her aging parents cannot successfully raise 14 children all under the age of 8.
Ah, but with the millions earned Suleman will hire a staff to take charge. But, wait, isn't she to be marketed as a child-care expert - how's that to happen when she's not the caregiver?
Just what does this woman plan on telling the rest of us know-nothing-moms?
Nadya Suleman has, according to my diagnosis, some serious problems, but she is not alone in committing this act of of negligence, because the fertility specialists who gave her in-vitro fertilization shoulder a much higher burden of guilt.
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This blog can be found in our columns section where you can print a copy or e-mail to someone
http://talkaboutparenting.org/pages/articles.php
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Comment
| | 1. | Hi Shirlee,
I too cannot believe the amount of coverage Nadya has received. I am concerned why DCFS have not visited to begin the adoption process. Come on no job, disability recipient, assistance for children with special needs, outstanding school loans. How can she afford to take on that challenge and to raise them properly? How unfair for all us single mothers out there with special and successful stories to share. And yet they spend time advertising her story and the public responds! Frustrated tax payer
- by tmac, 03-29-2009, 3:37 PM
| | 2. | Shirlee,
As usual you're right on target.
What is the world coming to when we tend to praise irresponsible acts like this? It is, of course, a tragedy. But, then, who will care when responsible, caring parents like you and I speak out? They all want to hear from her. I wonder how many of them will try to emulate her.....
Hank
- by Hankl Wilfong, 02-08-2009, 10:08 AM
| | 3. | Hi Shirlee: What a great article. This young woman, to correct a "disfunctional childhood" has just guaranteed a disfunctional life for 14 children. AND guaranteed that you and I - taxpayers - will be paying for them -as we have been doing via SSI for her and her other children. Are the other children being supported by someone or by us? Come on, a back problem so bad that one cannot work though most do out of necessity. It is very difficult to have a regular pregnacy with a back problem. And, if we believe the first reports, she will breast feed all of them. Yet, the new report said they are being fed with "donated" breast milk. Is she pumping and donating? I remember it was a full time job with one. Every 2 - 3 hours for at least 15 minutes, sometimes longer. 8!! That is a full time job alone, not even sleep will interfer with that schedule. A man wrote a letter to the editor in the Star News, I wish I could remember his name but his idea was delicious! "Declare the Doctor that did the implanting the father and let him support her and the children." Sounds great. What was the cost again, about $500,000? With that type of income he ought to be able to handle it. Did he donate his services? How did that payment work? If, in fact, she did work there, he, as her employer would have known her family background and should have refused to do it. Of course, she is delusional. And she doesn't want to talk about her "disfunctional childhood" because her parents are needed right now. They are taking care of her and her other children. Was this all financed by a prepayment from some sort of media? She on SSI financed the implanting, the medical is donated by Kaiser where my son's family has to pay and the grandmother miraculously comes out of a $ 1,000,000 bankruptcy. I am grateful that there are Mothers such as you that will speak out for the children and their families. Great to hear that you and Brandie had a wonderful time and experience in Washington, DC. Thanks for your stance. Joyce Kristensson Pasadena
- by Joyce Kristensson, 00-00-0000, 12:00 AM
| | 4. | Hi Shirlee, I have another barb to throw at the media. When I saw a snippet of this irresponsible woman being interviewed by Anne Curry of NBC, I noticed her resemblance to Angelina Jolie. The hairstyle, the pumped-up lips I wonder if those were implanted along with the embryos and the comments about wanting lots of children echoed what the media have gushed endlessly about Jolie. I think this product of a dysfunctional family wants to be Angelina...perhaps because the media have glamorized her and her penchant for motherhood. Don't get me wrong....I don't have a problem with Brad and Angelina and I think it's nice that they adopted several children who needed a home. However, if the media didn't act like they were the epitome of parenthood, perhaps the less mentally-balanced citizens of this country wouldn't think procreation was the path to fame.
- by Donna Hatchett, 00-00-0000, 12:00 AM
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