Britney Spears in the Spotlight

I've seen so many people bashing Britney Spears for being crazy and a bad mother lately. The news media is having a field day with all the nutty stuff she is doing and chronicling her deteriorating condition. It is sad to see someone fall apart like this and sad her children are losing their mother because of her own self destructive behavior. However, I think the true tragedy here is that shock at her actions and the reaction of child services, etc. stems from her celebrity status. Children all over the USA are in conditions just as bad, but their parents aren't in the spotlight. Is Britney Spears unfit to care for her children in her present condition? Absolutely. Is she the worst mom on earth? Sadly, no.

1. Letting her baby "drive" the car had the world in an uproar. People across the nation were calling for the children to be put into foster care. However, almost every day, I see children riding in the back of pickup trucks without a truck bed cover or cruising around in their dad's laps on lawn tractors. Frankly, I'd chose riding in mom's lap in an enclosed vehicle over the other two.
2. Attacking a vehicle with an umbrella while the media was watching was absolutely on the unstable side. So is keying a car or slashing tires without the media watching, which more than one mom who is angry with another person has done. Unfortunately for her, Britney Spears doesn't have the ability to act normal in public and sneak back later and deface the vehicle.
3. Marrying Kevin Federline wasn't any crazier than any crazy, romantic movie plot I've seen. People fall in love with people no one else can stand all the time. Sometimes, they fall in love with child molesters and serial killers. Marrying Federline may have helped create the overload that made Britney self destruct, but it isn't a reason to declare her unbalanced or unfit.
4. Shaving her head was a cry for help. Other moms have tried to kill themselves and left their children to come in the door from school to call 911 because their moms are unconscious on the floor. I'd prefer the shaved head. She can wear a wig.
5. Drinking and doing drugs in front of her children is unexcusable. Unfortunately, the number of moms who are high as a kite and still have custody of their children breaks my heart. Why are the kids still there? The system is only as good as the resources given to the people who staff it. Overburdened social workers, foster homes bursting at the seams and a desire to avoid damaging children by pulling them out of their homes if parents can be rehabilitated all work against even the most passionate child's rights advocate.

What can we do about Britney Spears and her children? The best thing for now is probably exactly what has happened. Kevin Federline says he cleaned up his act. I sincerely hope it is true and I hope Britney can concentrate on doing the same thing since she doesn't have anyone to care for but herself now. However, there is something we can do for the children that aren't in the spotlight. If you have empty bedrooms, do foster care. If not, try a Big Brother or Big Sister program. I'd love for something good to come out of the sad implosion of the little girl who grew up under the glare of the media spotlight and turned out to not be grown up at all.