Apparently, news of the teen pregnancy tipped off the Christian publisher of "Pop Culture Mom: A Real Story of Fame and Family in a Tabloid World" that Mother Spears might not be the best person to provide parenting advice. The book was set to launch on Mother's Day 2008.

"This is such a strong case for why you should be a parent and not a friend," Janet Chan, editor in chief of Parenting magazine, told The New York Post.

Now, Nickelodeon is reportedly considering a special about sex and love following the news. Rather than focus strictly on Spears, Ellerbee said she's considering producing a broad discussion about how people know they're in love, when is the right time to have sex and what are the value systems of their parents and friends. It could air as soon as next month.

But what if parents aren't sure what their value system is? A lot of parents don't know when the right time to have sex is, so how can they tell their kids? What would you, or do you tell your kids?

Posted by Barbara Correa at 3:05 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Look, she's just like us!
Ok, she's not exactly Betty Crocker down the street. But with Jodie Foster all over the news promoting her new movie, "The Brave One'' it got me thinking about her motherhood (Sorry, Jodie, since you're so famous we get to deconstruct your life).

Before I go there, though, what about the success of that film? I guess women don't necessarily have a problem with violence if there's a reason for it.

Anyway, back to Jodie as Mom. Over the last ten years or so, she seemed to be putting her career in the back seat to raise her two school-age sons, Charles and Kit. I remember reading that and thinking how rare it was for a star that big to opt to "work at home'' while her kids were little.

Foster has never revealed the paternity of her kids. She's been with the same partner, producer Cydney Bernard, for years. All sounds peachy keen. But what does she tell her kids when they start asking about Dad, who he is, and why he's not there? What would you do?

Posted by Barbara Correa at 3:10 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

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I often think that if I could be anyone, I would choose to be Diana Krall. She's a glamorous torch singer and a wicked pianist, and it must be pretty interesting to be married to Elvis Costello. So when I found out we had something in common, I was quite excited.

Here's how it happened: we went to see Diana at the Hollywood Bowl a month ago. Mind you, it was my first time seeing her in concert. But she just seemed a little off - not her music, but her banter. She kept on repeating the names of the band and saying how great it was to be there and how tired she was - it was almost like she was on something, or maybe she is just eccentric, I thought. About midway through the show she finally paused and started to really talk to the audience and then she dropped the bombshell, which was news to me: she gave birth to twin boys last December!

A ha, suddenly everything was so clear. Her symptoms fit exactly with the Multiple Mom syndrome -- extreme fatigue, ability to concentrate if pressed, but generally hazy, and always apologetic. Very familiar. Go Diana!

Posted by Barbara Correa at 11:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)