This blog entry was originally intended to be an open letter to Huma Weiner the long-suffering wife of NY Mayoral candidate, Anthony Weiner. I had all these grand ideas of sharing with her how incredibly weak and naïve she appeared “standing by her man” for the second time as he ‘fessed up to acts of betrayal committed during their marriage. I had plans of telling her how the message she was sending to young girls was an inappropriate one, blah, blah, blah.  Then I realized that this woman has zero obligation to act as a role-model to anyone’s child except her very own. Furthermore, her marriage is really none of my business.  Despite the fact that she’s chosen to live a highly visible life as a public servant, she has no obligation to be a role model to anyone.

“If your child has to look further than across the dinner 

table for a role-model, you’ve failed as a parent.”

I believe that too often parents put unrealistic expectations on celebrities and other public figures. They overreact when their children see these individuals behaving badly.  Then there’s the media with the talking heads asking, “What kind of message is s/he sending to his/her young fans?” I fully understand the temptation to respond in this way (refer to the first paragraph). But before we hop on our soapboxes telling people we don’t know how they should live their lives, we have to do a few things: 1) Realize that people are free to live their lives in any way they choose – even if it goes against our own fundamental values; 2) Realize that nobody is responsible for our children except us; and 3) Take full stock of the examples we’re setting for our children and ensure that they’re good ones. The people children encounter on a day-to-day basis have far more influence on them than anyone they’ll see on television or on the Internet. If parents are indeed doing their jobs, then children won’t feel the need to search elsewhere for the guidance of strangers.

“But I can’t stop my child from consuming the images of

wayward celebrities that litter the airwaves and Internet.” 

No, you can’t keep your children from seeing pictures and “news” clippings of public figures displaying acts of questionable character.  However, you absolutely have the power to establish yourself as a more important, more credible role model and source of encouragement than some person they’ve never met.

So . . .

 

Dear Huma,

Never mind.  Carry on.  After all, we don’t even know each other.

My bad.

xoxo,

Chrissy