Alec Baldwin (with Marci Klein) at the UJA-Federation of New York’s Leadership awards dinner at Pier Sixty in New York City on June 6th. Images thanks to WENN.com .
Depending on how you look at it, Alec Baldwin is either really gutsy, totally insane, or able to learn from his mistakes. Or perhaps a combination of the three. After the controversy of the infamous “rude, thoughtless little pig” voicemail message he left for his then 11-year-old daughter Ireland, you’d think Alec would hesitate to bring up the incident again. Sure he did the initial requisite round of apologies and explanations, and he seemed genuine in his regret. Partly because he didn’t apologize for everything, only the things he felt he truly did wrong – and I suppose that’s better than saying you’re sorry for everything and not meaning it.
Nonetheless, that was two years ago and Baldwin has done a good job of moving on, thanks to his consistently stellar performance on “30 Rock. But he’s going to bring it all up again – because Alec has an idea or two about how you should parent your kids.
He’s no Dr. Spock – but that isn’t stopping “30 Rock” star Alec Baldwin from writing a book – about parenting!
The actor, long embroiled in nasty family turmoil involving his daughter, recently told an interviewer: “It will be ironic for some people, but I’m going to write a parenting book.
“We’re at… an awful place right now in terms of parenting. Kids have too much power and call too many of the shots, telling their parents what they will and won’t do.”
…Alec thinks modern parents have gone soft, and he blames the bad economy and other social stresses for pulling them away from their kids.
“We live in stressful times,” Alec said. “People come home, walk up the driveway, put the key in the door, and they can’t do another hard job. Parenting your children effectively is a tough job.”
Said a source close to the Emmy-winning actor: “He really believes he can help other people with their parenting problems because he’s been through the whole thing himself – the good, the bad and the ugly. And he’s a lot more learned and loving as a result.
[From The National Enquirer, print edition, July 13 2009]
The thing is, much as I think it’s ill-advised and big-headed of Alec Baldwin to think he’s in a position to offer advice to other parents, I agree with every word he’s said. I cannot believe the way I see children bossing around their parents, telling them what they will and won’t do. Not that I didn’t have my moments as a kid, but you can tell when a child is throwing a once-in-a-while random tantrum versus behaving in their everyday manner. Parents let far too much bad behavior pass without raising an eyebrow.
That’s a big part of it. Yesterday I was on the train, and this kid kept obnoxiously yelling at his mom over and over again, annoying the whole train. I wanted to glare at the kid, but quickly realized the real problem – his mom had her headphones on. Loudly. She didn’t want to be bothered with her kid (who was only trying to tell her about his afternoon at day camp) so the rest of us had to hear him screaming. So… Alec Baldwin, you may not have a leg to stand on, but I’m still going to read your book. And do my best not to call my future kids barnyard animals.
ROLOL whatever Alec Baldwin, stick to being a C-list ‘actor’. Oh and Alec, if you act like a bad tempered, explosive and immature adult yourself then what do you expect from a child. If his child grows up into a messed up adult then we all know who to blame now, don’t we Alec? Y.O.U. So dude please.
Mmmmmm, I think not. I’ve read a few of Alec’s blogs and he remains an angry man, an apparent trait he learned from his father and refuses to acknowledge.
Ha ha, what a concept. Does he really need money that bad? Maybe he and K8 can co-author…
AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!
That is all.
Yeah. And I’m writing a book about sobriety.
Teehee!
I like the idea of him and K8 co-authoring! That’d be fun to read – a special kind of delusional!
Can you believe this guy sports ancestors from the Mayflower? True. He’s more in line with the Irish and French Canadians and the whole attitude from Long Island’s South Shore. Don’t be mad. I’ve his identical background.
If anyone chooses to buy what Alec Baldwin is selling, not only are they complete and utter dimwits but child services should automatically be called on them. That’s what listening to Alec Baldwin can do for you.
Alec B. is a narcissistic bully who should not be encouraged in any way to voice his opinions on parenting. He SHOULD go into in therapy to get a handle on his anger and his overblown ego, and he should invest the rest of his time and energy on improving his own parenting skills and establishing (if at all possible) a healthy, loving relationship with his daughter. But, of course, he won’t. He’s far too busy playing the role of victim.
I was raised by a jerk just like him, and I will forever pay the price in some way or other. I wasn’t raised by my father – I survived him – and I only hope Alec B’s little girl will be capable of doing the same…
he should team up with joe jackson and dina lohan.
He makes one parenting mistake with the answering machine message and now people are going to make him pay for it for the rest of his life evident by the condemning comments posted here. Get over it – move on. I’m sure Alec and Ireland have.
Hmmm….working title “How NOT to Call Your Kid a Rude, Thoughtless Little Pig”. Yeah, I’d buy that one—-not.
Scary how I agree with the things he said, too.
This really is like shooting fish in a barrel.
Okay this made my head explode!
I’m waiting for his diet book, “Beer, Potatoes and Rage: How to Get My Signature Puffy, Bloated Look.”
Perhaps he’ll write his autobiography, “Yes, the World Does Revolve Around Me (Due to the Gravitational Pull of My Enormous Head)”
The parenting guide will be entitled Managing Your Thoughtless Little Pigs and will be released by Harper Collins.
I laughed. I cried. Then I threw up.
That’s what I think of Alec Baldwin.
Alex needs a good shrink. He absolutely has an ego that can fill a room but he has not one ounce of common sense.
What moron would actually read his book and follow any parenting advice he offered?
i heard that the book wasn’t so much about how to parent, but on his experience with parental alienation, which is an all-too-real issue with divorcing parents.
it’s an unfortunate reality that children are often in the middle of nasty court battles, invariably used as pawns, and they naturally tend to side with the parent of least resistance. it’s frustrating for a parent (usually the primary caregiver) who tries to enforce healthy rules and routines when they don’t apply to the child when they are with the other parent.
if the book is indeed about parental alienation, i would be interested in reading it; like other commenters, i’m not so much interested in the Alec Baldwin Parenting Methodology.
I read Alec Baldwin’s book A Promise to Ourselves and quite frankly the person in that book is not the same as the people on this blog are talking about. I’ve lived outside of the States for 20 years, and really have no idea what happened in Alec Baldwin’s divorce in the media, but I can tell you he knows what he is talking about when it come to what is happening in divorce courts. The are messing up kids worse than bad parents, and in domestic abuse cases it is criminal what the courts are doing. Believe me I know from experience. You can google my name, Quenby Wilcox, for more information on my own case.
If anyone is interested in this subject and doing something about what is happening in the divorce courts/parent alienation and other forms of domestic abuse pls. visit my blog http://www.stopthetortureandgenocide.blogspot.com, copy, sign and send the letters to your representatives in Washington and those to whom they are addressed.
About parenting, it’s not about being perfect its about caring and loving.
Quenby Wilcox