I don’t know anything about Britney Spears or her children. I do know that if I had asked myself your excellent questions before I became a mother, I would have given all the right answers. And answers that may be different now that I am years into being a mother.

There is a HUGE difference between anticipating what being a parent is like and the reality of what being a parent truly is. A lot depends on you, the adult, but it is also very dependant on the person(s) your child(ren) are. As the mother of a highly competitive, super athlete, emotionally intense child (I am oversimplifying my child’s traits as there are many more), my motherhood is greatly affected by this as much as who I am as a person when I became a mother and who I am maturing into as I am actively in the mothering years. In Britney Spears’ situation, I do not know if the legal system acted in the best interests of the children — at the very least, given who their father is. What I worry about is our culture that honors and holds up high celebrities and what that does to the celebrities children as well as the children of us mere “mortals”.

Best regards,
Joanne