Madonna: Not Ruling Out a Fifth Child

Jackson Lee/Splash News Online

With four children ranging in age from 3 ½ to 13, pop icon Madonna admits she’s got her “hands full” — but nonetheless says she hasn’t shut the book on motherhood just yet. “I have no idea [if I'll have another child],” she tells PopEater. “But we never say never.”

If she ever finds herself in need of a helping hand, it sounds as though she has a good option in oldest daughter Lourdes Maria, turning 13 next month, whom she describes as “super-sister” to younger siblings Rocco, 9, David Banda, 4, and Mercy James, 3 ½.

“She’s amazing with the little ones. She has the typical relationship with her brother, Rocco. They’re like ‘I love you’/'I hate you’ every five minutes. But with the two little ones, she’s great. She’s amazing. Very protective.”

Having “grown up in the limelight,” it should come as no surprise that Lourdes is interested in pursuing a career in entertainment — a decision Madonna says she will support, so long as Lourdes “finishes school, and takes it seriously.”

“She also plays piano, and she’s really into clothes and fashion and style. She can go in any direction. She’s got a lot of diverse interests right now. We’ll see. I’m not pushing anything. We’ll see what she wants to do.”

Lourdes first official foray into the world her mom inhabits daily took place recently, when she appeared in Madonna’s new music video for “Celebration.” “She really wanted to do it,” Madonna, 51, insists. “It’s just a little moment.”

“She hangs out with the dancers a lot. She’s a dancer, herself. The video is about the celebration of music and dance. There’s an improvisational moment when we’re all in a circle and each dancer does their specialty or a special move that they do well. She wanted to do hers, so she did.”

Source: PopEater

– Missy

Comments

I know Mercy & David are both 4 yrs old but who is older? just curious! thanks!

- g!na on September 30th, 2009

It’s great that the little ones fit in so well with the family. Not so much David, but Mercy is still somewhat “new” and it sounds like it’s all going just fine.

- Andrea_momof2 on September 30th, 2009

Lourdes is actually in Madonna’s new video. You can def. see she’s got that entertainer bug in her and I bet we’ll be seeing a lot of Lourdes in the future!

- JMO on September 30th, 2009

Lourdes is dressed up as Madonna circa Like A Virgin in the fan version of Celebration, complete with an identikit bridal outfit. It’s a bit innappropriate given that she’s only 13.

- Rachel-Jane on September 30th, 2009

I read from someone in the MAdonna Camp that her kids are basically being raised by nannies and that she rarely has one on one time with any of them.

- Elizabeth on September 30th, 2009

lourdes is one of my favorite names right now

- Ame on September 30th, 2009

Mercy is older. I think David turned four recently.

- Hannah on September 30th, 2009

Lourdes appears to be a lovely young lady, Madonna seems to have done a good job with her. I’ve actually read that Madonna – contrary to what we might imagine – is a rather strict mom. She limits TV to weekends only and is a stickler for school work. I think no matter Lourdes end up doing she will excel.

- gargoylegurl on September 30th, 2009

Ugh. I think Madonna gives a terrible face to international adoption. The way she forced the adoption of Mercy truly made me sick. Madonna lives an unstable and whirlwind life that is not attachment-friendly for children that are being adopted at an older age. The adoption world supports attachment parenting, especially when it comes to older children and there’s no way that her lifestyle can give the time and attention needed to foster that secure attachment with her children.

- urbanadventurertales on September 30th, 2009

Seriously she has done a great job with her children! And to those that judge just how many adoptive children do you have in your home? Great job Madonna go for 20 more children!

- mom2addi on September 30th, 2009

Funny how quick people are to judge and comment negatively on subjects they don’t really know. From pictures that I’ve seen and articles that I’ve read, Madonna spends as much time as she can with her children. To say that the children are raised by nannies is unfair.When she is touring or producing a new album she probably is very busy and not home as much but otherwise I’m sure she is present and there for her children. Is she worse than those numerous parents who drop their children at daycare at 7am and pick them up around 5pm or later?

- Skits on September 30th, 2009

Actually, I DO know what I’m talking about when it comes to adoption. It’s my job. I write home studies for adoptive families and do educational seminars, so I’m well-researched and know many of the ins and outs of adoption. True, I don’t know Madonna personally, but I do see her hectic work schedule and I’m sure she tries to spend time with her children and has the best of intentions, but it doesn’t mean that she is being the best parent to them.
Honestly, it seems that she has more than enough resources to stay at home full time to be with them while they are young. She could work on attachment parenting and bonding with them and when they are a little bit older, phase back into work.

- urbanadventurertales on September 30th, 2009

Mom2addi, so it’s about the number of kids we all adopt before we are allowed to speak now? That’s not a fair comment considering the amount of people who ARE in the process of adopting and have problems doing so while some celebs are allowed to make their ownh rules basically.

I see what you’re trying to say Skits, but in regards to your own judging of others, I don’t know if it’s wise to defend a celeb just by what you see in photos and read in articles.

- J on September 30th, 2009

Madonna should not be adopting a fifth child. She’s 51, she’s a single mother, she has a crazy workload. It’s just not fair to the child. There is no way she will be spending quality time with him/her.

- Sadie on October 1st, 2009

“I see what you’re trying to say Skits, but in regards to your own judging of others, I don’t know if it’s wise to defend a celeb just by what you see in photos and read in articles”

J, aren’t you doing the same regarding celeb adoptions…making judgments about it based on what you’ve read or heard?

How is it that people are so sure celebrities circumvent the rules? When a celeb announces they have adopted, we don’t know how long it took or what they went through to get their child…

- gargoylegurl on October 1st, 2009

I actually heard the audio to this interview with Larry Flick and it didn’t seem like she wanted to adopt another child any time soon because she said she had her hands full with the four she already has and she went on to say nice things about all her kids, but the interviewer kind of insisted and she just kind of said towards the end, “never say never” in a joking way.

I hate how so many people keep spreading rumors and negativity about her and judge her because of her persona. Nobody knows how much time she spends with her children and it’s unfair to say that what happens during the few months she does go on tour is what happens when she doesn’t tour. She stays in one place during the school year for her kids and works & exercises while the kids are at school (all four children are in school). She tours every several years (2-4 or more years) and only for a few months at a time. All the children seem quite attached to her, especially Lourdes and David, if she wasn’t good with them or spending enough time with them, then you’d think they would be attached to others instead of her. In pictures taken by the paparazzi up close, the children don’t always look pleased, but from pictures taken from afar or when the children aren’t aware they were being photographed, they look happy and act like normal children.

And why is nobody bashing Guy Ritchie? He’s seen his sons once every several months for a few days and he definitely has the means to see them more often. Their custody agreement states that he can see the children any time he pleases if he’s in town. Madonna sees her children every single day, but Guy sees them once in a blue moon and the second he does see them, he’s branded “father of the year”… my goodness, the double standards are appalling.

Also why should Madonna quit her job simply because she’s wealthy? I think that’s unfair. If her job gives her fulfillment and brings her happiness, then that makes her a more pleasant person to be around and that energy is transmitted to her children. I don’t see anything negative with that.

- Morgan on October 1st, 2009

Mercy’s adoption papers list her birthday as January 22, 2006.

David’s adoption papers list his birthday as September 24, 2005.

- Morgan on October 1st, 2009

gargoylegurl did you follow the madonna adopting thread at all? she clearly violated the laws of mercy and david’s home country; she almost wasn’t allowed to adopt mercy because of it.

but in theory i agree with you…people are quick to assume celeb’s must have circumvented the rules (like with katherine heigl, and she didn’t appear to break any rules) but in madonna’s case she did.

- MZ on October 1st, 2009

Yeah, I read about Madonna’s adoption of David and Mercy. There was a a lot of speculation and assumptions, still not sure we really know if she broke any rules or laws. If she did, then the adoption agencies are to blame. But really, who suffered? So David and Mercy got to be in a loving home and out of an orphanage that much faster. I don’t think that’s a bad thing.

In reality maybe celebrities, the affluent & wealthy, get to pull some strings? Perhaps it happens faster for them? I don’t really know. But how fast someone else adopts should have no bearing on how long it takes someone else to do so.

Life isn’t always fair. It sucks that us regular folk may have to wait longer to adopt, but it is what it is. I don’t think celebrities should be criticized for wanting or getting their adoptions through as quickly as possible.

- gargoylegurl on October 1st, 2009

None of us really know anything about Madonna’s parenting style and we don’t know whether or not she spends lots of time with them or very little time with her children, so there’s no reason to judge. What we read in magazines or interviews is not trustworthy, in my opinion.

We also don’t know all the facts of her adoption of either one of her children, so it isn’t fair to make judgements about that either.

- Lynn on October 1st, 2009

Morgan- Thanks for clearing that up! What confuses me, though, is the fact that CBB and PEOPLE referred to Mercy as being 4 for awhile after her adoption, and now are saying 3 1/2.

- CelebBabyLover on October 1st, 2009

MZ- And I think that’s what gargoylegurl meant. I’m pretty sure she was referring to celebs in general, not just Madonna.

- CelebBabyLover on October 1st, 2009

Morgan- I see your point, how do we know how often Guy sees his sons. A lack of paparazzi photos of him with his sons doesn’t mean he rarely sees them!

- CelebBabyLover on October 1st, 2009

I meant to say… “but how do we know often Guy sees his sons?…..”

- CelebBabyLover on October 1st, 2009

I wish I could belive the things Madonna says….I find her very false and imagine the image she tries to portray of herself is not at all accurate. I don’t know….I find her very hard to like.

Morgan, how do you know how often Guy R. sees his sons???

- Lilly on October 1st, 2009

I hate when people assume they know how often celebrities see their kids. You DON’T know and it’s a complete lie to say you do. Especially Guy & his sons, what are you judging this on? How often we see paparazzi pictures? It’s ridiculous.

- Andrea_momof2 on October 1st, 2009

Paparazzi photos are just a snapshot of a moment in their life, and you can’t base accurate opinions off them. Sometimes you don’t see photos of a celeb with their child for months on end- does that mean that they’re a bad parent who never spends anytime with their child? No it doesn’t- it just means they’re either better at avoiding the paparazzi or that the paps just aren’t interested.
The only way to get an accurate idea would be if the paparazzi followed them about 24/7 with a videocamera that streamed live (so there could be no editing).

So those saying Guy is a bad father who never visits his children, how would you know? You aren’t part of that situation, you have no idea how often he visits his children.
And for people who are saying Madonna is a bad mother etc, who do you know what kind of mother she is? Just because you don’t like her or because ‘a close friend’ told a trashy tabloid magazine that she was a bad mother don’t make it true.
While I’m not a big fan of Madonna, to me it looks like she’s doing a good job raising her children. The look loved and happy and supported, and isn’t that whats important?

- Sophie on October 1st, 2009

Sadie I totally agree with you just because a person has a lot of money and other means to raise a larger family doesn’t mean they should. Madonna should focus on the children she has now…And your right she’s 51!!!!

- ashley on October 1st, 2009

Well I always stand by the fact that it doesn’t matter how she went about it what happened is that one less child is living in an orphanage abandoned by family. I send kudos to ANYONE famous and non famous who adopts!

- JMO on October 1st, 2009

i agree with you sophie.
really, we don’t see pictures or Guy alone that often so it’s not a surprise that we don’t see him with the kids that much!
the last time i think it was actually pictures of him with madonna and the kids (including mercy). it seems that they started to get very cordial with each other.

- daze on October 1st, 2009

I’m gonna comment on the post and not the comments. It’s great of Madonna to support Lourdes. It’s obvious that Lourdes is a fashionista and I’d love to see her go in that field.

-meream

- All Women Stalker on October 1st, 2009

Ok-
I just saw Madonna’s new “Celebration” video… Typical Madonna fare; oversexed, crotch grabbing, gay innuendos, whatever-works-for-you-is-great attitude…
And Lourdes does show up looking like a little Madonna. After seeing the video I’m shocked that she let her 13 yr old be part of it… But then again, I’m sure that child and the rest of her brood has been exposed to all that in their day to day life…

It may offend people, but I will say that I would not like to see one more child in that household. I’m sure that there are thousands of worse off households, that I’m not aware of, but what I see in her videos is a reflection of her… and it disgusts me to think that another child should be exposed to that. She might have the money and to me, that is all that qualifies her to be a parent. Nothing else.

- JustMe on October 1st, 2009

Some people are missing the point of my comment. I’m not saying he’s a bad father, all I’m saying is that often times fathers are given a pass for behavior that mothers would get destroyed over. And people are quick to say Madonna doesn’t spend time with her children yet she sees them every single day, but nobody is criticizing Guy for seeing them far, far less.

He is a wealthy man and can easily fly wherever he wants. In the past year, Guy has seen his kids when Madonna has flown them in to London and that was in December, April (one week), mid-June-early July (for about 3 weeks), and 2 or so times since until the tour ended September 2nd. Every single time Madonna flew in (to every country she visited over the summer), her plane (and the family) was photographed. Guy was never seen with them on tour, nor has he been seen in NY (by the people that work photographing her). And let’s say he’s seen them a few more times than that, the point is that it’s still a huge amount less than Madonna does and yet she is the one criticized for not spending enough time with them.

Again, I’m not saying he is a bad father, but I find the double standards mothers are held to rather appalling. The same could be said for the ages of mothers versus the ages of fathers. Fathers can easily be 50, 60, or even 70 and that is perfectly fine, but women cannot, even if the child is adopted.

- Morgan on October 2nd, 2009

I like Madonna, always have and never had an issue with her adopting kids. I did however have a problem with her adopting kids and not spending enough time with them. When she adopted Mercy she was on tour and continued with that tour which I thought was odd.

However I’ve come to realize that she must spend time with them on break or take them on tour with her at times. I also have a change of heart in thinking for the fact that I remember her giving an interview and she seems like a straight laced parent.

Sometimes we judge celebrities on their parenting skills when we see them in public but who knows what happens behind closed doors and as much as some people want to critisize her we should think about the kids that are being adopted by these celebrities.

For one, they now have a better life. Better than they would have gotten living in an orphanage and being turned away at 18 to fend for themselves. These children are taken out of poverty at times and although it seems like a dime a dozen w/ celebs adopting.

They are saving the lives of some of these kids. Granted I wish that more of them would adopt from their own country first but in the end a child is being given a home, love, security, an education and a family and as human beings thats what we should strive for…helping one another.

- Dee on October 2nd, 2009

Dee- Actually, a lot of celebs adopt from the U.S. (I honestly don’t known whether a lot of celebs who live in other countries adopt from their home countries). Joely Fisher, Calista Flockart, Willie Garson, Sheryl Crow, Jon Cryer (considering he and his wife adopted their daughter last month, which was just one month after her birth, it’s probably pretty safe to say it was a domestic adoption), Edie Falco, Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman, and Lionel Richie are just a few examples of celebs who’ve adopted domestically!

Also, Meg Ryan has said that she tried for years to adopt in the U.S. before she finally turned to international adoption.

- CelebBabyLover on October 3rd, 2009