If you are a reader of celebrity gossip, you may have already seen this photo, but I’ve never claimed Rookie Moms as a resource for breaking news.
A few things are happening in these pictures of Suri Cruise and her mom. One is that she’s out very late at night– past midnight, according to the original source where I saw the photo. Whenever I go to the movies and see kids under 5 out at the mall at 10 pm, I think “what the heck?” and judge the parents. Sorry, can’t help it.
Next, let’s discuss what she’s holding. What. She. Is. Holding. Ok, I’ll give you a minute to think your own thoughts and then tell you the conversation I had with Heather.
Done?
Alright then.
So what you should know is that Heather is a parent with very high standards for her own family rules. The rules are not flexible, and they are numerous. As soon as the children walk in the house, they must remove their shoes and wash their hands. NOTHING ELSE MAY BE DONE BEFORE THAT. EVER. (So if you think that having three boys means she’s going to have a house full of footprints and general boy dirt, you’d be wrong.)
She is also extremely watchful of her kids’ sugar intake. They rarely get dessert, and sometimes they get what we joke about as “How Berkeley can you be?” dessert which is applesauce or maybe vanilla yogurt with cinnamon. Juice? Only at birthday parties. Chocolate milk? No.
In case you think Heather is humorless and no fun right now, that is not at all the case. She is quite adventurous, hilarious, and makes me laugh many times each day. She will buy herself an entire chocolate cream pie from Whole Foods to split with her husband while they watch TV or play video games after the kids go to bed. (Oh, and TV for the children? 30 minutes of PBS Kids per day, tops.)
So when I showed these pictures of Suri to Heather, can you guess what she said?
“My problem with it is that it’s candy!”
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I don’t get the judgement at all? This article brings up tons of more judgements than this picture. Did you see her interview on Ellen (or some other talk show) talking about this?
Show me a picture of any of the three of them actually practicing scientology…that’s something understandable to judge. Candy, not s’much. IMHO.
my question is not so much what Suri is holding BUT what shop were they in that their daughter would pick up something like that. Ummm, duane reade or my local neighborhood pharmacy doesn’t carry penis gummies…
I think that’s the point–with all of the things Whitney saw as “judgment-worthy”, it’s ironic that all Heather saw was the candy.
Is now when I get to say I was JOKING? Honestly, my biggest problem is the midnight. But I have a not-undeserved rep to protect with Whitney as the juice-hoarding, candy-forbidding, dessert-stealing mom so I said “My problem with it is that it’s candy!”
I do have a problem with you giving your two year-old candy. There, I said it.
I don’t have much of a problem with any of it because Suri is what 5 or 6? Just think it’s funny that they are all dressed up checkin out penis candy.
Ok, I have a totally-from-left-field thing to say but it’s the first thing that popped into my head when I saw the pix. I have no idea where these pix where taken, but I lived in Europe for three years and in the more progressive northern European countries this kind of product could totally be on a shelf in a store that I might have casually browsed through, even with my kids. It could also explain the odd hour if they happened to be somewhere outside of their usual time zone. Candy question: Sometimes I let my kids HOLD things with the understanding that they won’t get to buy them but it keeps ‘em quiet and occupied to stare at the box. My biggest criticism is that she is married to that nut job Tom Cruise, but I think that deserves a whole other blog post.
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Sounds like you hit a few nerves with this one. I think you bring up some good points though. Every mom has their parenting “do’s and don’t”, most of which I feel evolve over time and change with each kid. Before becoming a mom, I was that person passing judgement over other moms in the public that were doing things I swore I would NEVER do. Ha! Little did I know then. Now, I’m no expert, but with two kids now I have learned a few things about my parenting “do’s and don’t”. What works for me and my family, may not work for someone else’s.
I have a problem with the midnight thing, I sort of feel like that’s child abuse.
The idea of penis candy is weird, but whatever. The idea of candy? Everything in moderation is our goal here….unless of course I am on a flight with two or three kids under four by myself or from Austin, TX to Athens, Greece then everyone can have a lollipop the whole damn way if they want, penis or otherwise would be freely given.
I seriously wonder if my girls would eat these even if I let them. They’re pretty horrified by penises right now.
Let’s just hope she doesn’t find the vagina candies, and put two and two together!
First of all, LMBO. I thought the candy thing was funny. Good one.
Second of all, it’s hard not to judge. Here’s my theory: we judge out of jealousy. We work so hard to do what we think is right for our families, and we have this little twinge of jealousy for those who don’t, for whatever reason, feel like they have to try so hard.
Suri will be fine. She’ll eat some dick candy in a racy store at midnight, and her life WON’T be ruined. But for those of us who would never dream of taking our kids out that late, or feeding them phallic candies (or let them hold phallic candies or whatever), we feel a little pang of “HOW COULD SHE NOT CARE!? SHE IS SUPPOSED TO CARE! LOOK HOW MUCH I CARE!”
But yeah there is no excuse for marrying Tom Cruise. That is just sheer insanity.
That fact that y’all have such a problem with the late hour just goes to show that you are not Latin. I had big problems with it too, since I read 1,000 infant/kid sleep books when my first child was born, but eventually I adapted (I married into a Latin family). My kids sometimes stay up late and then sleep in until 9 or 10 am. And, yes, I know that going to bed and getting up at the same time every day is better for your sleep/health/blah blah blah. To a lot of people, sometimes other considerations (like time with family) takes precedence. Most Latin friends let their kids stay up late for any and every holiday/family gathering. It might not be the best idea, but I think those kids are also learning a certain flexibility and they do seem to be able to handle it (generally speaking). To willfully subject a child to sleep deprivation, sure, that could be termed abusive. And, honestly, who knows what’s going on with the Cruise family. But if a kid is getting enough sleep and seems happy enough, I don’t really care when they go to bed.
I am surprised to be defending the Cruises but I have to. There are soooo many unknowns here, I just can’t judge. Others brought up good points. What if they were in another time zone? My immediate thought was, what if she saw it and was like ooh mommy look at the cool dancing worms! Maybe she really didn’t know they were penises. You bring more attention to stuff when you say OMG PUT THAT DOWN than if you just let her hold it and act like she’s holding a box of candy worms.
Really, since we’re opening the door for judgement, I have to say I really take issue with Heather’s way of dealing with treats. Now an adult, I have dealt with eating disorders and related food issues my entire adulthood and even my childhood. Teaching your kids that junk is never allowed, while going behind closed doors and stuffing your face with half a cake doesn’t really send a healthy message. On a daily basis, my child gets “real” food. We eat very few things from a box. But my child also knows that if we go to a birthday party, she will get a piece of cake. Or that she gets to eat cookies on holidays. All or nothing is not healthy. Our jobs as parents are to prepare our children for the real world. I promise you, there is plenty of junk in the real world. Teach your kid how to deal with it now, while you still can.
For someone who doesn’t want to be judged for being looney and breastfeeding 3 year old boys…you need to stop and take a deep breath. Seriously.
I’m all for being a good parent – my own son gets NO TV and little to no sugar. But the totally random, emergency must keep him up past his 7pm bedtime- I DO NOT JUDGE.
And the candy – for god’s sake, she’s like 5 years old. She has no idea what re heck it is. My sheltered, highly educated 4 year old son would gladly hold that box too. Doesn’t mean
sqaut.
Stop judging. Lest we all arty calling you crazy for your (what many think) to be insane practices.
Hi, pot. Meet kettle.
The thing that I got out of this whole post? It is GENIUS to make my kid put away his shoes and wash his hands the minute he comes through the door. Why did I not think of this before. Seriously. I read this when it was first posted, started drilling into my then 2 year olds head that when we came through the door, shoes came off and hands were washed and about 6 weeks later, it actually started happening! Like overnight, he finally, FINALLY got it.