Take Home Nanny

There's a new breeder show on TLC called "Take Home Nanny" where nanny Emma Jenner tells clueless and weak-willed parents how to tame their little demonspawn before an upcoming occasion.

Tonight's episode featured a couple with 3 brats, the youngest being 1 year old, but she was the only well-behaved child. The parents also did the co-sleeping thing with the two older brats.

I think it's ridiculous that parents need this type of assistance in the first place. Apparently they do or these shows wouldn't be so popular. How hard is it to say "NO"? Like on that movie Matilda, Danny Davito told his kid, "I am big, you are little. I'm rich you're poor, I am tall, you are short. I am smart, you are dumb. I am right, you're wrong". These people need to TAKE CHARGE. They are'nt doing themselves, society, OR their kids any favors by being mealy mouthed pushovers.

Is anyone here old enough to remember that Christina Crawford book called Mommie Dearest? An unauthorised biography of Joan Crawford written long after the poor old thing died -- so that she had no chance of rebuttal?

I read it at about age 13, and even then I was rooting for Joan over her brattish adopted daughter Christine (who wrote the book, and whom you were supposed to LOVE). Pah. I kept re-reading the bit about Joan Crawford in the swimming pool racing her daughter (then about 10yo) one length of the pool. Joan won, cest naturelment. She then turned to her shitty-mouthed ungrateful little daughter ("who had triiiied soooo haaaard to wiiiiin") and casually pointed out that she, Joan, was her superior... something like "Yes of course I beat you. I'm better than you, and stronger, and I will always beat you." Heh heh.

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"The death of creativity is a pram in the hallway"
- Cyril Connolly

Does anyone here remember the Saturday Night Live parody of the movie Mommie Dearest, in which every family member and friend give the girl raw liver for Christmas? I still snicker thinking about that one.

Amethyst Wrote:
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> Is anyone here old enough to remember that
> Christina Crawford book called Mommie Dearest? An
> unauthorised biography of Joan Crawford written
> long after the poor old thing died -- so that she
> had no chance of rebuttal?
>
> I read it at about age 13, and even then I was
> rooting for Joan over her brattish adopted
> daughter Christine (who wrote the book, and whom
> you were supposed to LOVE). Pah. I kept
> re-reading the bit about Joan Crawford in the
> swimming pool racing her daughter (then about
> 10yo) one length of the pool. Joan won, cest
> naturelment. She then turned to her
> shitty-mouthed ungrateful little daughter ("who
> had triiiied soooo haaaard to wiiiiin") and
> casually pointed out that she, Joan, was her
> superior... something like "Yes of course I beat
> you. I'm better than you, and stronger, and I will
> always beat you." Heh heh.


I also like it when she had in her will, " and to Christina and Christopher I bequeath nothing, for reasons known to them". That Christina bitch was a whore and a taker. If she hadn't been so greedy and such a slut, she could have stayed home and lived in the mansion rather than stinking up the convent, which did no apparent good anyway. I doubt Joan was a very good mother, but that's beside the point. This kid had it better than 98% of kids in America at the time and all she had to do was keep her fucking wardrobe OFF of wire hangers, not lay down with every boy she met and embarrass her mother by getting kicked out of fancy private schools, and keep her bathroom clean. How hard is that?

Ok, I have to interject here. I am a CF woman TO THE CORE and it never once occurred to me that Christina deserved the treatment she allegedly received. Now, I have *not* read the book, only seen the film, but as a survivor of abuse as a girl, I have to wonder if Joan Crawford wasn't in fact the maniac Christina made her out to be; wouldn't surprise me one bit. My father was a lot like Joan in the movie, prone to outbursts of insanity complete with belt whippings for minor infractions, tearing things off walls, and destructive mayhem in general. Incidentally, my father has also disowned me, mainly b/c he found out I ditched hislast name with a legal surname change in the courts. I DID NOT deserve what he did to me, and neither did my brother.

TXGal, I totally agree with you.

"It truly is the one commonality that every designation of humans you can think of has, there's at least one asshole."
--Me

I have read through the book. It has been a very long time since I read it so I don't recall a lot of the details. I do not know how much the girl was motivated to write about this denigrating J.C. because of being disinherited, but I can identify a lot with how J.C. acted in such a negative destructive way. And aimed at destroying that girl. My own mother had her whacked out moments, which tended to escalate as I got older. She grew up with a nutcase alcoholic who had farmed her out to relatives until she was old enough and the alky figured she was going to play mom now that my mom was old enough. needless to say, that did not work out well. The only lesson my mom learned was how to play victim so that everyone will pity me. One of the best ways to do that is do the 'noble knocked up shack up whore with a child'. Yes, she did the best she could, but I think it was primarily for the outward show. I don't think she had a clue on how to raise a kid.
Right now, I will give Christina the benefit of the doubt because I recognize my mom in J.C.

p.s.: As for Christina waiting until 'mommie dearest' was dead, I think that perhaps that was the only way she felt she could win with dear old J.C. When I dealt with my mom, I never won anything. She would always change the rules so I never knew exactly where the line was. What was ok one day would be the unforgiveable sin the next. Have a heated argument and she would traipse merrily down the primrose path into a totally unrelated subject, browbeat me, and puff and bloat that she had won the argument. (what does thinking charging a driver for accidentally killing an unborn baby is wrong have to do with college tuition??). Once in a while I was able to back her into a corner and confront her with her own mistakes or other and it wasn't pretty. I could say more, but this is not the original intent of the post.
Thanks.

I keep hearing the book was retribution for being left out of the will. I'm no crawford fan here, but the woman can't defend herself. the other kids' stories are completely different.

That being said, when I watch the movie I remember things done to me psychologically asa kid, so bravo, Ms. Dunaway.

2 cent, your story rings familiar with me too.

I did read Mommie Dearest. I thought Joan Crawford was a bitch! OK, maybe it was not so fair for Christina to write the book after Joan was dead. But I still think Joan was one of these celebrity women who adopts children to make herself look good in the public eye. People are still fooled by this ruse.

Adopting a bunch of kids does NOT make someone a good person.

I think Joan Crawford KICKED ASS as a parent.

Wire hangers for everyone!

She was psycho too, but that's another point.........

In fact, they should send all new parents home from the hospital with a package of wire hangers.

KidFreeLuvnLife Wrote:
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> I think Joan Crawford KICKED ASS as a parent.
>
> Wire hangers for everyone!
>
> She was psycho too, but that's another
> point.........
>
> In fact, they should send all new parents home
> from the hospital with a package of wire hangers.



There's no doubt in my mind that Joan was a psychotic, alcoholic, abusive, ROTTEN mother who only adopted for the attention and publicity. However, she was hardly ever around and all Christina had to do was keep her shit off the wire hangers, not make a disaster area out of her PRIVATE bathroom suite, and not be so greedy and sneaky. She was a smart child, couldn't she figure out the consequences? If she would have playacted, like she obviously knew how to do, I believe Joan would have idolized her and succumbed to her every whim. However, HER greed and sulky disposition was apparently worse than her mommie dearest' was. I would hate to be Christina Crawford's kid.

I was always suspicious that her brother Christopher never had anything to say.