Billy Ray Cyrus wants to be Miley's best friend
Categories: Teens & tweens, Just for dads, Celeb kids, Celeb parenting
I saw Miley Cyrus and her dad Billy Ray on Jay Leno's Tonight Show last week and was kind of surprised. Not by Miley. She came off as a typical, self-assured fifteen-year-old - kind of loud, opinionated and quite full of herself. It was dad Billy Ray who surprised me. He sat apart from her and barely said a word during the interview. When Leno asked him about Miley's eating habits, he kind of shrugged and basically gave the impression that he doesn't know or care what she eats. His relationship with Miley came off as more of a friend than a father.That's why this article in People didn't really surprise me, but it does concern me a bit. Billy Ray tells Ryan Seacrest that he wants to be "best friends" with his kids. "I wanna be the person [Miley] wants to talk to," he told Seacrest. Miley has a lot of friends, and "I just want to be one of those friends."
When asked about his plan for keeping his celebrity daughter out of trouble, he stresses that it is all about "having a good heart and loving people and knowing that you're here for a reason." I won't argue with that, but what about boundaries? What about not letting your fifteen-year-old wear tons of makeup and dress like a 25-year-old? What about making sure she eats healthy and doesn't get chummy with the likes of Lindsay Lohan?
I like Miley, I really do. And I have high hopes that she will survive her teen years in the spotlight without getting pregnant or ending up in rehab. And we all want our children to talk to us and keep those lines of communication open. But she is a child and can't be expected to get through these years without some parental guidance.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
nicolebarber 3-05-2008 @ 10:06AM
Does he not realize that kids need less friends and more PARENTS SUPERVISION... hello Britney and Lindsey malfunctions
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Cynthia 3-05-2008 @ 10:37AM
Can't say I recommend the friend in lieu of parent approach. That said, I don't find the picture you linked to especially offensive. Yes, it's very short, but all the essentials are covered and it is for a Hollywood event. Meh.
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CarolinaDivina 3-05-2008 @ 12:29PM
i am not a glamorous celebrity - but for some reason, i strongly suspect that growing up a teenager as a hollywood starlet is much different than growing up in Anytown USA
i strongly suspect that public opinion, paparazzi and public life in general probably hold a very unique place in a hollywood family's value structure
with this in mind, who can tell what is the best way to handle this?
doctors and literature have all the answers for raising children in middle america in this day and age - but who out there can really discuss with authority what the best approach is to growing up and being raised in hollywood which exists in conjunction with the facet that is public life, a fully different world and reality than most people can even imagine
let's consider that the sources for these reassuring suggestions and precautions that mid-america hungrily craves - they supposedly come from "scientific studies" that have been formulated by observing the "average household"
i don't think family life in front of the camera can be constituted as average
how many studies, outside of observation, have been made to offer suggestions on handling public life?
my point is, even with the studies and literature that are readily available out there, the final answer on how to be an effective parent and know how to properly raise a teenager depends a great deal on the child's personality
an example, it was mentioned on another post on this website that one child could fall asleep using a traditional method as suggested in a popular book written for those that fit the mold, yet the sibling could not - the sibling was put to bed using different methods that worked just as well (i couldn't figure out by the post if these other methods were also suggested in a book or were discovered by trial and error) - one family, two children, two completely different methods for securing a good night's sleep = different experiences for different children
so
i suggest that maybe billy ray knows his daughter and their household situation a little more than we might suspect and that he may truly be a caring and involved parent doing what is best - maybe he knows what his daughter's limitations are - maybe i'm naive, but i like to think that a parent does the best for his/her child...
also - i suggest you go to the movies this thursday or friday, maybe pick a 9PM showing for something popular - take a look around you and appreciate that all those skinny little anorexic overpainted and underdressed barbie dolls are merely 13, 14 and 15 year olds - and they, just as easily as a hollywood starlet, has a chance of becoming pregnant and addicted to drugs
maybe we should all practice michael jackson's parenting techniques, don't let our children out in the sunlight, and if it is necessary to do so, not without a face-cover
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