Around the Web…

Sad celebrity parenting news:

• Farrah Fawcett, mother of one, loses her courageous three-year battle with anal cancer — PEOPLE
• Michael Jackson, father of three, passes away from sudden cardiac arrest — PEOPLE

Some stories to send you into the weekend:

• How to help your toddler make friends — Just the Facts, Baby
• Hot mama Heidi Klum becomes a Barbie doll — PEOPLE StyleWatch
• Five tips for staying active with your family — Health.com
• Do toddlers’ cavities need to be filled? — CafeMom
• How do you handle time-outs with your children? — lilSugar

Comments

No matter what mistakes he has made in his life, you have to feel sorry for Farrah’s son, Redmond. The poor kid is all alone in his jail cell with no family member to comfort him after his mother just passed away. My prayers will be with him.

- Lisa on June 26th, 2009

No one can deny the talent that Michael Jackson had. But he also lived a tumultuous life. I hope they keep the kids together for the sake of “family”.
Farrah Fawcett fought a huge fight. I believe the treatment in Germany and here in the US help her live longer than then what was expected. I hope her son cleans up his life and lives it clean and sober for the sake of his mother’s memory.
I feel for both these families.

- mary on June 26th, 2009

i am so sad to hear of these losses…does anyone know what will come of michael jackson’s children? i know that the younger son has a different mother than the older two, but i hope, for their sake, they are kept together, or are allowed frequent visits. losing a parent is terribly difficult, they shouldn’t also lose their siblings…

- noam on June 26th, 2009

My condolences to Ms. Fawcetts family.

I keep crying over mj. I don’t know what will happen to Michael Jacksons kids, but I have to commend him. While people found him wacky for covering their faces often, I can see why he did it and why he was so secretive. Hopefully, they can live relatively normal lives because there dad protected them so much. The world has lost an icon, musical leader and a positive light.I feel like music died today.

- Anon on June 26th, 2009

right now the children are with michael’s mother. blanket was born via surrogate, so he will most likely stay with michael’s mom, or one of his siblings. the mother of the other 2 terminated her parental rights. so, unless she tries to reverse that (which she did during michael’s ’93 trial), i imagine the older two children will also stay with michael’s family.

- MZ on June 26th, 2009

MZ that’s not all true. Ms. Rowe tried to terminate her rights back in 05 the judge granted her wish but then changed her mind. As of right now she still has her parental rights, but Rowe has has no contact with the kids since their birth.

- Anon on June 26th, 2009

Anon, yep I just read that on People and was coming back to correct what I wrote. I was going off what I had heard on CNN last night

- MZ on June 26th, 2009

I think it is horrible that Farrah’s son was not able to be with his mother when she passed. There are some crimes that I would be more inclined to understand denying even a situational release from prison, but drug offenses are certainly not one of them. I obviously do not know the personal preferences of Ms. Fawcett in terms of who she may or may not have wanted to be with her as she died but to think about her passing away without her only child and to think of this young man alone knowing that his mother was taking her last breaths is heartbreaking. Even as an adult, when I think of my mother, it is still through the eyes of my four-year-old self who needed nothing more than to be near her or hear her voice for comfort. And as someone who is fighting the demons of drug addiction, the pain that Redmond must be enduring right now certainly won’t help in his long-term recovery prospects. It’s unfortunate that someone thought it their right to give him such a permanent and destructive emotional experience by denying him the chance to say goodbye to his mother.

- Susan on June 26th, 2009

rip to farrah, ed, and michael. i also hope mj kids get to stay with each other adn with his mom, especially since i don’t think they really know their birth mother(s)that well.

- jessie on June 26th, 2009

Its cool, its all pretty murky right now . So surreal.

- Anon on June 26th, 2009

Wow. Michael’s death is still such a shock.
I hope for the best for his 3 children.

- Anna on June 26th, 2009

I don’t think I’ve ever witnessed 2 legends both die in one day. One I knew was coming (Farrah) but the one just so sudden and shock (Michael). My heart goes out to both familes. MJ’s 3 kids are now without a father. Just so heartbreaking. May both RIP.

- Kelly on June 27th, 2009

Just to correct a point, in case anyone is interested, there are conflicting rumours over whether Debbie Rowe had contact with the children. The original custody agreement states that she did, “sources” supposedly connected to her are saying that she was, to a limited extent, involved in their lives and in contact with them, and that the parental rights were never legally terminated at any point. Legally speaking now, that apparently means that unless the state of California can prove that living with their mother would be detrimental to their welfare, then Debbie Rowe is in line to take custody of Prince and Paris by default. What grounds, if any, the Jackson family could fight that on, I don’t know.

Where Blanket stands is currently anyone’s guess I suppose, which is just terrible. I suppose the natural assumption would be that Michael’s parents would assume custody, but there has been weak speculation that if there is no familial guardian named in the will, that Blanket’s custody could pass to whoever gets custody of Prince and Paris to keep the children together.

Anyway, I don’t want to start a huge debate over this, I just wanted to clear up the Debbie Rowe contact issue for anyone who wanted to know.

I still feel desperately sad about Michael’s passing. My thoughts are with all his loved ones, but especially Prince, Paris and Blanket.

- Alex on June 27th, 2009

I am still so shocked over Michael’s passing. Farrah’s just doesn’t hit me as hard…mainly because I do not really “know” her. She was before my time (I am 29). And I am just thankful that she is no longer in pain from her cancer.
I grew up with Michael Jackson. Heck, my 4-year-old daughter LOVES the song “Thriller”. She will dance all around to it. So his death to me is how I am guessing Elvis’ death was to my mom. Just such a huge shock.
That said, I hope that Debbie Rowe does not get the kids. I honestly do not think she wants them. I think she is just waiting to see how much money the Jackson family will throw her way to stay away from them.

- Kelli on June 27th, 2009

I was just yesterday talking to my little cousin, he is 8 and a huge MJ fan. He said something that all us adults agreeed with, Michael Jackson was already such a legend that you just sort of forgot he was just really a normal man who would one day die. I suppose on a level we all thought he would be around forever. It is such a shock that he is gone so suddenly, and as a child who lost their father when he was barely 50 my heart truly goes out to his children.

- Daisy on June 28th, 2009