feedback for "Interview: Campbell Brown"

1. Does she have a nanny or babysitter, or are the children in day care? From the interview, it would seem no, yet I find it hard to believe they can both work and raise such young children with no significant extra help. If they do and the person is not mentioned at all, not even in passing ... interesting.

   posted by : JC mom on 7/2/2009 at 2:38 PM Flag For Abuse

2. They have help, it seems. She sees them in the morning for a little while before work and he gets to see them for a little while in the evening, she says. "So how does she manage to tackle world issues on a daily primetime news show and raise two very young children?" The article asks. She doesn't. Her childcare provider does (the raising part). I like her, but make no mistake, you can't have a job like that and be the one person who's most important in those little kids' lives, or have them be the most important to you. Something's gotta give. Not for me.
   

   posted by : GP on 7/3/2009 at 7:11 AM Flag For Abuse

3. Her life sounds pretty fantastic to me! Kudos to Campbell. I admire her a lot.

   posted by : Lee on 7/3/2009 at 12:39 PM Flag For Abuse

4. So GP, a mother with a job, doesn't think her kids are the most important thing in her lives? Rather presumptuous of you, no?

   posted by : K Sasikumar on 7/3/2009 at 5:20 PM Flag For Abuse

5. Yeah, my comments on working or not working with young kids never seem to come out right. I should probably refrain from commenting on this topic, since it always rubs me the wrong way to hear about women with fabulous and demanding careers and very young children, like it is so wonderful, when my opinion is that it is not so wonderful and they should be focusing on the little ones at that time in life. But, that is truly just MY opinion.
   

   posted by : GP on 7/3/2009 at 10:10 PM Flag For Abuse

6. Just curious GP: do you expect fathers with demanding careers should also be focusing on the little ones? Or does this only apply to women? 

   posted by : Lee on 7/4/2009 at 1:28 AM Flag For Abuse

7. My personal opinion is that in the first year, at least, it's a good idea for the mother to turn her focus to the child, especially to support the breastfeeding relationship. So, to me, no, it's not quite as important for the father to shift focus in the first year. That's just my personal opinion of best practices, though. The idea that this is so appalling to some people just makes me laugh. I know, I know, careers are so very important. Women have a right to their career, too, all that....and that seems to be what most people focus on. That's fine, but not for me.
   

   posted by : GP on 7/4/2009 at 7:27 AM Flag For Abuse

8. For some women, it's not just a career issue; they are also bothered by the discrepancy between what's expected of mothers and what's expected of fathers. I know quite a few couples (including myself in this) where it feels more natural for them to not divide things along gender lines (e.g. husband does more childcare, wife is more career-oriented). To me, it makes more sense to approach childcare from that perspective, based on personal capabilities and strengths, than a one-size-fits-all "moms should do this," "dads should do this" approach. This of course means some families will move in a more traditional direction, because it works for them, but others will not and that doesn't make them any less nurturing. But this is just my opinion as well. 
   
   
   
   
   

   posted by : Lee on 7/5/2009 at 1:22 PM Flag For Abuse

9. I think both GP and Lee make great points.  I know a few couples with the stay-at-home dad who have also managed to breast feed.  It is a very traditional decision on their parts based on their strengths and careers.  They did not want their child/ren raised by a nanny or daycare.  I think that in an ideal world, all children should have a parent be their primary caretaker for at least the first year of life.  Usually it's the mom and that makes sense considering that the mom is the one to breastfeed.  Pumping for a solid year is very difficult and almost no women follow through this long.

   posted by : jojo44 on 7/5/2009 at 7:45 PM Flag For Abuse

10. I watch Campbell Brown and like her show a lot. Too bad this article was published during the MJ funeral hullaballoo. I had to laugh when she said she's going for more hard news stories and no tabloid fluff considering her show and all the rest of the shows on CNN are all Michael all the time.
    

    posted by : at on 7/6/2009 at 8:31 PM Flag For Abuse