Alec Baldwin Chastised for Yelling at His Daughter
Whatever Happened to "Spare the Rod and You Spoil the Child"
While it's nearly impossible for any person on the outside of their relationship to know the full course of the parental relationship and the process of the apparently bitter divorce between Alec Baldwin and Kim Basinger, it seems as though this phone message has been taken completely out of context.
Most parents are aware of the fact that their children need to be disciplined; whether they do it or not is another matter. Many children today are, unfortunately, "spared" any type of discipline, aside from "time out." While abuse is obviously not advocated, children do need a strong parental presence in order to learn how to behave, otherwise they will take advantage of almost any opportunity they have to act out. Spoiling a child is not going to help them to become a productive member of society. There are many examples where constant berating leads to emotional scarring, however lack of discipline is also problematic. There has to be some sort of a balance, and verbal admonishment is appropriate in certain instances.
It seems that this voice message is rather mild, given the numerous things that could have been said regarding her apparent behavior. Whenever parents go through a divorce filled with animosity, some children will take sides, or will try to pit parents one against the other in order to get what they want as well. Maybe these children act out to get the attention that they feel is being denied to them because of the divorce, or maybe they are angry that they feel they are being used as a pawn in the divorce proceedings and custody battle. Again, it is nearly impossible for outsiders to know the full circumstances, actions, and emotions involved in these situations. While the parents may try to set a good example for their children, it can be difficult to keep calm at all times when emotions are running high and there is a constant struggle that involves so many hurt feelings, aggravated by deliberate actions, on all sides.
Whatever the case may be, Alec Baldwin did not do anything wrong in attempting to discipline his child in this instance. If more parents would take an active roll in rearing, and when necessary, properly disciplining their children, maybe teachers wouldn't have such a hard time instructing kids in schools, and unfortunate circumstances arising from the actions of ignored and/or undisciplined kids would be fewer and far between. Behavior starts in the home, and if a child learns that they can get away with anything in that environment, they may take that attitude to the outside world. Granted, there are many varying circumstances that influence behavior, and children do have their own personalities that may be resistant to parents' attempts, but adults have to try to do the best that they can to raise their children; this does not mean thinking that their children do no wrong.
Point out a parent that has rarely shown love to their child and/or has never raised their voice to them when the child has done something wrong (which many parents do if they care about the child's behavior at all), and you can almost guarantee that the child is spoiled rotten and may someday become a danger to society.
Published by A. Green
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6 Comments
Post a CommentI am sorry but have you even heard the conversation in question?
I am a strong believer in not coddling your children but there is a vast difference between disciplining a child and threatening to hit them with a brick for not answering the phone. I also agree with the fact that judging a relationship or a private conversation between strangers lacks any kind of context. That being said I do not believe that there is any situation or context in which calling your eleven year old daughter a pig several times is appropriate.
if anyone has anythign else they thing i should add let me no with a comment on here i woulld really like some opinions as well as facts in this speech so i can give a vast variety thnks
im doing a report for my english class and its a speech im pretending to be his agent and this is what i have so far (not detailed jus a skim thro version)
mr baldwin has obviously had some bad moments with his daughter and mayb they dont have the relations that everyong believes. he is an absent father to his daughter and obviously there is more behind his name calling then what we see many dont get along with at least one of their parents and him and his daughter obvioyusly butt heads
You have your opinion, and you're entitled to it. But I wonder how people, such as yourself, that judge so harshly (as you seem to do by your statement here) would feel if you had your not-so-great moments with your children (if you have any, I don't assume that you do or don't) taken out of context and broadcasted for the world to see. No one outside of the situation knows what his relationship with his daughter is like, how he has responded to her behavior in the past, and how she feels about him. But besides that, you are correct, I don't think that he crossed the line here, given the very limited information. I would venture to guess that his daughter has called him a lot worse at some point, and that doesn't mean that she is a terrible daughter.
There is a huge difference between discipline and what he said to her on that voicemail. Obviously, you can not see where he crossed the line. Why dont you seek parental counseling regarding the difference. Your statement that he was mild? What are you thinking? It's bad enough that this happened, worse that it went public, but ppl who think it is okay really cause me concern.
Well put. I find it ridiculous that the world has chosen to weigh in on this as if they know anything about Baldwin or the situation. It's not anyone's business, frankly. Our voyeur culture can be sickening.