Madonna does not allow her children to watch TV or eat ice cream..is that not stupid?

Question

My biggest worries??? Excuse me? I did not have a childhood, I spent it being abused. That's why I get annoyed when other kids don't get to have childhoods either..

Answer 1

wow you views are screwed up. What does tv have to do with polio. She is not hurting anyone. She is not Christian anymore so why celebrate christmas. It is not her belief. A lot of kids would be better off with no tv and as for ice cream. Millions of kids do not eat it and survive just fine. If these are you biggest worries in life then I wish I was you.

Answer 2

Nope I don't think it's stupid.  She doesn't want her children to grow up to be unhealthy fat couch potatoes.  My children get a half hour a day to watch televsion, they don't get soda, they rarely get candy.  Christmas depending upon one's religion is a Pagan holiday that celebrates the Winter Solctice and Yule, or the celebration of what has been said was the birth of Christ.  It has nothing to do with children getting presents that is a choice made by parents.  According to Madonna's religion (Jewish) they don't celebrate Christmas, they celebrate Chanuka.  So what are YOU complaining about?

Answer 3

I know, I hate parents who have these odd, alternative parenting styles.

I don't think watching TV or eating candy is healthy all day!!  But, it's part of being a kid.  As parents, we just have to make sure we balance these activities.

I've seen parents that don't allow this and don't allow that.  It's very odd to me.    After all, what are you really protecting your kids from.

Once they get to school, they are exposed to kids will many different backgrounds.  They are bound to find out what candy is or what spongebob says.

You just have to give your kids the right tools to make good decisions.

Answer 4

You actually thought Madona would do something smart?

Answer 5

I think she's afraid they will see her on TV lol

Answer 6

Why do you care how she raises her children?? she loves them, that's all that counts, there's  more to life then ice cream and cartoons...you wouldn't want someone attacking your choices you make as a parent, as long as she's not abusing them...does it really matter?

Answer 7

" I think that boy would be better off going back to Africa."

That is alittle extreme and insensitive for you to say. Ice cream , television and Christmas are not the only things that may a kid a kid and their childhood will not be ruined because of that. If it rains maybe they play board games, read, color, play with toys, listen to music. ride a bike, etc. There are other things a child can eat that is a treat besides ice cream and I kow several parents who do not allow their children to eat anything with alot of sugar or any junk food or soda. They instead have fruit or a granola bar etc. Does Madonna allow her children to celebrate other holidays? To many people, in today's society Christmas is way to commerical and the meaning gets lost. Its not the end of the world. I'm sure they have plenty of toys and/or things to do, They have plenty of other ways to be children not having Christmas , television or ice cream will not kill them or make them any less of a child. I'm sorry that you were abused and robbed of your childhood but the things that are not allowed will not rob Madonna's kids of their childhood. I hope your adult life is better.

Love, Carly

Answer 8

Please bear with me as I share a story of opposites, lol

When I was little, my family had very little in the way of material goods.  My father was often ill and so our finances were strained, to say the least. We did not have a TV until my grandma died when I was 14, and we got hers. For Christmas, my siblings and I got a few neccessities, such as a few articles of school clothing, toothpaste, and a toothbrush.   My birthday fell a few days before Christmas when money was extra tight, and sometimes a present was pulled from under the tree to serve as my birthday gift.  My grandma sent us each a 2 or 3 dollar gift each year; the only "toys" we ever got, with the exception of some hand-me-down toys from people in our church.  Our clothing consisted largely of the same. Children only know what they know, and by that I mean, whatever their lot in life, it is normal to them because that's all they have ever experienced. I never went around feeling sorry for myself.  I played outside a lot and had lots of fun picking berries in our backyard, playing in the field behind our house, coloring, playing with the 2 barbies we got second-hand, and riding bikes. I loved playing hopscotch and making blanket forts inside our house.  I accompanied my mother to U-PICK orchards to get fruit which we canned every summer and fall. I went to a church-sponsored activity one afternoon a week with other kids my age.  When I was 4, my father was sick for 3 straight months, and as soon as he was well enough to sit up, he would read to me all the Dr. Suess books over and over until my mom got so sick of hearing them that she gave away all but the three she accidentally missed. (I was a great reader when I entered Kindergarten, heh heh)  We didn't get cookies or treats or cake or ice cream very often (only at birthdays and at Church socials) because my mom hoped that by keeping those things out of the house, my father would somehow miraculously heal.  (Didn't work, hmmm....) Our Easter baskets had just a handful or two of candy.  But, despite our meager posessions, I knew my daddy loved me.  He treated me kindly (yeah, he got annoyed at times) and would often surprise me by hiding candy or nuts under my pillow. He let me hang out with him in his "shop" in our garage where he tinkered with his metal lathe.  He let me hand him tools when he fixed our cars, often explaining what he was doing, and why. He hugged me a lot and encouraged me and complimented me. (I suppose I knew my mother loved me, too, but she carried the weight of the world on her shoulders, what with taking care of my sick dad plus all 6 of us kids, and was less "warm and fuzzy" than my dad.) I did wish for a TV, and whenever I'd go to play in the homes of my friends, I'd try to talk them into watching it with me, but I never stressed over not owning one. Me and my siblings were some of the smartest kids in our school, btw.

Now for the opposite:  My husband grew up in a home where there wasn't a lot of money.  For Easter, his mom made him an Easter basket made out of a cottage cheese container, with a pipe-cleaner handle.  He got only a small amount of candy. His mother was ill from the time my husband was 6 until he was 8, when she died.  His mother was very cranky when she became ill, and my husband was often punished with a stick his mother kept just for that purpose.  He remembers covering his face with his hands because his mother's blows simply fell where they fell.  When his dad got angry, he would pick my husband up by his HEAD and shake him, while yelling at him.  After my hubby's mom died, his father remarried.  The new mom was good at fixing meals and keeping the house clean, but was cold as ice.  My husband was ridiculed by both his dad and step-mom on a regular basis. His father would tell him, "You'll never amount to anything, playing all of those dumb board games." (My husband now earns about 200 K making those dumb games, but on computers instead of boards)  My husband was ridiculed for putting himself through college ("What... does my son think he's better than me.. . too good to be a truck driver?")

The end result? My husband showers our kids with material possessions in order to show his love for them.  It's almost as though he thinks that being poor and being unloved are somehow connected. I, on the other hand, know that there are many, more effective ways to show love. Listening to our kids drone on and on, lol, about things which interest them. Reading to them. Accepting their mistakes and trying to teach them how to improve without making them feel stupid.  Limiting their TV time in order to allow imagination time.

Dang... I'm getting tired of listening to myself drone on and on. heh heh.  Well, anyway, I hope that I am getting my point across.   Toodles.    :)

Answer 9

A lot of people now days don't get to do that. And a lot of people don't celebrate Christmas. Haven't you ever hear of the JEWISH??

My 5yo is allowed do do those things in moderation, but he'd rather eat an apple pie than a bowl of ice-cream.

Answer 10

She's the parent.  They are the kids.  They follow the parents rules.  That's the way it goes.  And it's none of anyone's business how she chooses to raise her kids.  And TV and candy was not the cure for polio.  I rarely watch TV.  There's nothing worth watching.  I do something they call reading.  If more kids did that, there would be fewer kids graduating high school that can't even read.

Answer 11

Kids didnt watch tv before it was invented. They used their mind.

Candy every once in a while is ok, i dont quite understand bannin it all together

and for your question what if the weather is bad? they play and do crafts!!

there are alot of people that dont celebrate christmas. it is a religous holiday and from my understanding she isnt christian so that makes sense.

Answer 12

TV is not a childhood necessity.  Nor is the lack of it abuse.

It is more likely that you should worry about it being abuse the parents who allow 20 - 50 hours of TV a week for their children.  THAT is abuse.

Commercial ie cream is full of nasty stuff.  Like anti-freeze.  You know, the stuff you put in your car.

Also, Christmas is a religion based holiday.  There are MANY non-Christians who do not celebrate Christmas.  Further, her children are hardly doing without.  It isn't like they have to wait until Christmas so Mom and Dad can get them some special stuff.  They probably get so much free stuff that they have to give it away by the truck load because no couple of children could use that much stuff.

Answer 13

yeah shes crazy how do u go and cancel christmas her poor kids i feel bad for them.  theres also nothing wrong with a little ice cream here and there.. shes proly just afraid her kids will get fat ... yeah giving them a complex about it now is real smart lol and you know when they get older thats all they are going to do is watch tv and eat candy because they couldnt experience it as children

Answer 14

parents have the right to choose what they think is best for their children.

dont worry about what she does...kids are well set for the rest of their life...

as far as the christmas thing goes, she practices kabbalah so why should she have to celebrate christmas?

you obviously dont know about the religion she follows...so what they dont celebrate what you celebrate...they do celebrate OTHER holidays

and besides what you read and hear in the media is not always true..they will make someone look perfect or horrible according to what they want you to think...

Answer 15

So there are hundreds of parents who don't let their kid watch TV or eat sweets your not talking about them. Maybe she doesn't believe in Christmas. My mom and dad don't celebrate Christmas. Just get over it everybody raises their children differently.

Answer 16

I know a few parents like that.  She does allow her kids to watch TV but only DVD's and VHS movies that she approves of.  She just doesn't let them watch tv shows or movies on tv because they are harder to monitor.  She allows them to listen to music but only appropriate music.  She has a diet though that she has always ate to keep herself healthy as well as her husband and her children.  It works for them.  As for Christmas I am pretty sure that is against her religion just like Jewish people don't celebrate Christmas.  She still buys them things and they do celebrate their birthdays and other special days.

Answer 17

No..not really.  The kids are not suffering because of lack of TV and ice cream..or christmas.  You can't miss what you don't have.    Millions of children in the world dont have a TV and millions grew up without TV before TV was invented...I don't believe any of them suffered because of it.

Answer 18

Everything is okay in moderation. The key is to keep control on the things children do - like how much tv they watch, what they watch, how much candy and sweets. Nothing wrong with a treat now and then, you are right about the cartoons, I don't know what my saturday mornings would have been like without those growing up, and now for my children aswell.

I don't know about the whole Christmas things. I guess how she chooses to raise her children is her business, but I certainly to not agree with these examples.

Answer 19

I have to seriously disagree that eating sweets and watching cartoons are the best parts of being a kid -- and i think if they are, it's a pretty sad childhood.  If the weather's bad, there's drawing, reading, building, pretending, making forts, dancing, playing with friends....

If a kid isn't getting a chance to have fun and use their imaginations, or eats nothing but tofu, that's one thing.  if somebody doesn't have a tv or doesn't buy ice cream, that's another, and it's not stupid.  

my kids eat a lot of ice cream ... but no candy, since they have life-threatening allergies.  their childhoods have not been ruined.  they watch up to an hour of combined tv and computer a day 11 months of the year ... and none at all one month a year.  they have a fabulous time in our "unplugged" month doing things that have nothing to do with tv.  their childhoods are not ruined from missing it for a month ... and i'm sure people who choose not to have a tv the rest of the year have perfectly happy children, as well.

as for christmas, i'd say my jewish friends seem to have perfectly happy kids without celebrating christmas....

of course choose what's best for your own family ... but be a little more open minded in considering that other choices may be reasonable, too.

edit -- and i'm pretty sure tv wasn't the cure for polio.

Answer 20

I agree.  That is not stupid.

Answer 21

That is great. TV in America is absolute trash and filth. How can you disagree with her for protecting her kids' future?

Answer 22

I'm sincerely hoping that you do not have children because you don't seem to grasp what parenting is.  For whatever reason.

TV these days is an ongoing advertisement for immorality of one form or another. s*x is prevalent, or the allusion of s*x, and there is very little of value. It is up to the parent to decide what they believe is appropriate for their child. Madonna wants to preserve her childrens innocence and values and there is nothing wrong with that.

As far as candy and sweets, she is likely trying to teach them self control and how to take care of their bodies. With the percentage of obese children in this country, we need more parents willing to step in and take control of what their kids eat. My guess is that they can indulge in those things occasionally, but as a special treat. There is nothing wrong with that!

Not everyone does Christmas. We don't have it at our house because we are Christians and nowhere in the Bible is there a record of Christ celebrating his own birthday. He attended weddings and other ceremonies, but never birthday parties. Christmas is really a pagan-based holiday with no spiritual value. Of course her kids get presents and have fun. Just because it's not on your schedule does not make it wrong.

And what does her having money have to do with it? It proves that she is a responsible parent for not using money as a substitute for common sense and involvement.

The best part of being a kid is knowing that you are loved and having parents that you want to be around.  Her kids have that. Have you ever thought that maybe Lourdes looks sad because she doesn't like always having cameras in her face? She's growing up and that's hard enough without all of it being documented by and for judgemental fools.