Mary McCormack believes in tough love

Becoming a parent for the second time tends to make mom a little less tense, at least that is how it was for In Plain Sight‘s Mary McCormack when daughter Rose, 14 months, joined big sister Margaret, 3.  Mary admits that while "it’s tricky with the second" and it is also "different" than with the first.

With the first I could have done anything out of her diaper bag, open heart surgery, anything. At the drop of a hat I could have done anything.  Second — no diaper bag, sometimes no diaper.

Another example of things being different the second time around is when Rose "had a penny in her mouth." Mary shared that she was sitting "across the room and I was like, ‘A penny’s gonna go down.’  I’ll gun it for a quarter but a penny’s going to go down." And sure enough, little Rose swallowed the coin.

The Broadway star, 39, also admits that she practices "tough love" with her daughters, but it tends to show more with Rose.  "We’ve never said her name without poor in front it," adding that "you just forget she’s there."

If Mary is having a problem forgetting that Rose is around, she may be in trouble as she admits that she would like "a lot of kids" if she can convince her husband Michael Morris.

My husband wants two, he’s finished.  I asked for six to try to end up with four.

Source: The Tonight Show with Jay Leno; Photo by Jason Kempin/WireImage.

Thanks to CBB reader Maya.

Comments

M on July 15th, 2008

..the penny could have gone into her lungs or she truly could have choked on it. i can’t believe she wouldn’t get it out.

MB on July 15th, 2008

yah i was kind of shocked when she said that

~ MB (Maya)

dickie on July 15th, 2008

other than the penny story (and lets face it, she probably had no time to do anything about it), all this sounds pretty familiar to the stories my friends tell. The second one (and the rest) just dont get much attention. Speaking as the 3rd of 4 children, I recall this all too well!

MB on July 15th, 2008

i agree the others are pretty normal, but i watched the segment last night and it seemed pretty clear that she just chose not to get up to take the penny out of her daughter’s hands.

Michelle on July 15th, 2008

How many of you were sitting there next to here when this happened? No one, really? Wow…sounds like you were there.

I applaud her for not over-parenting her children. I am sure she in no way meant she does not love or care for her daughter.

You know, it’s gotten to the point where I try and guess what everyone will criticize before I open the comments page.

Sadie on July 15th, 2008

lol, i cant believe she told the penny story! I didnt see it, was she kidding? I still cant stop laughing about how nonchalant the quote sounds!

Sadie on July 15th, 2008

Michelle if the comments bother you so much, I suggest you skip clicking through and reading them.

NicoleMarie on July 15th, 2008

I’m just curious what do you do if your child swallows a penny? Won’t it get stuck or would it pass? Just curious. I’m not a mother yet but I’m just wondering.

Rebecca on July 15th, 2008

Maybe she was talking about it like it happened in slow motion? That she was thinking it before she got a chance to do anything?

Heather on July 16th, 2008

Wow, her comments really struck me as odd. I get what she’s saying about being more relaxed with the second child, but not to the point of not removing a penny from their mouth..??? With our second I’m more comfortable in that I’ve done this before and I know a heck of a lot more than I did with our first. I get that side of it… but also to say that she forgets her second is there? Huh??? I couldn’t forget my daughter was there or not do something to keep her out of harms way like remove a penny from her mouth.

I don’t know.. I was just reading her comments wondering if I was reading them right lol! Very strange and concerning.

Gabrielle on July 16th, 2008

As a teacher who has had children swallow pennies and objects penny sized, like river rocks (those flat marbles), if a child swollows them you have to take their fecal matter for the next 3 days and squish it in a plastic bag to check for the penny/other object. If it doesn’t come out, then they have to get an X-ray. The X-ray is repeated 24 hours later, and if the object has not moved, they have to go in (either rectally if it is close, or surgically, which is a major, MAJOR surgery).

So, I recommend all parents not allow children to swallow non-food objects of any size.

That said, it DOES happen. Most children do pass the object. But choking is a risk.

Additionally, while I am in no way saying she is a bad parent, I think her *comments* are a little out of place. It’s like AJ’s comments about Shiloh, they get taken out of context and sound really bad. When you’re talking about a culture that is so ready to call a parent bad (even when they are not), I think celebrities may want to watch what they say a little more.

But, that’s just my two cents. Swallow them or not

Michelle Z. on July 16th, 2008

I think we should also take into account where she was when she shared these stories: The Tonight Show. I think a lot of celebs embellish their stories to make them funnier when they are on shows like that one. David Duchovny and Tea Leoni, for example, always tell really outlandish tales of their children (especially their son) on late night television. Maybe she was just exagerating for comedic purposes?

fay on July 16th, 2008

to gabrielle, she did indicate that the penny was out…

i actually saw this interview on t.v. the other night… and it was funny… her demeanor was not at all as though she didn’t/ doesn’t love her daughter… it was a funny story, i’m not completely sold that it was true… and she’s sitting in between jay leno and will ferrell… she’s gotta do something… i mean will ferrell is freaking HILARIOUS, eh?!

Gaia on July 16th, 2008

Michelle you should really lighten up a little bit. My mother is a pediatrician and yes is true there is a lot of kids swallowing stuff, pennies, little toys, screws, but in no mean parents should aloud it or look the other way, most of the objects like Gabrielle said will appear in the child’s poop, but sometimes the object can be stuck in the air waves and make it difficult to the child to breath, so it´s no joke!
I think is really stupid for a person like Mary to do such comment, but at the end it only makes her look like a poor parent, witch for the sake of her child I hope she´s not.

Michelle on July 16th, 2008

To Sadie and Gaia – I am not offended by the comments, I find them amusing. Like I said, I try to guess what everyone is going to criticize before I open the thread to read the comments.

Sounds like someone else is the one who needs to lighten up, dontcha think?

melanie on July 16th, 2008

OMGOSH she was probably joking lighten up people

melanie on July 16th, 2008

and i agree fay..it was very funny interview..im sure shes a great mother