Leah Remini's daughter hits the bottle all night long

by Angie Felton (Subscribe to Angie Felton's posts) Apr 27th 2008 12:01PM

Categories: Preschoolers, Celeb Parenting

In her role on The King of Queens, actress Leah Remini sees right through manipulative schemes and has a low tolerance for B.S. However, when it comes to dealing with her four-year-old daughter in real life, Remini is about as tough as a fresh marshmallow.

"I'm very consistent; I give in," Remini shared on the Rachel Ray show, "My daughter runs the house." Daughter Sofia drinks six to eight bottles during the night which means many runs to the refrigerator and diaper changes for Leah and her husband Angelo.

This is obviously going to be a huge struggle and not just because Sofia's bottle habit has been sustained for years. During the show Remini said if pediatricians don't tell her what she wants to hear, she just finds a new one. And apparently telling her that her daughter is being manipulative is not what she wants to hear.

"Manipulating me to what? To love her? To hang out? What is she manipulating me to do?" Remini said.

It's not unusual for first time parents to be lenient and overly accommodating, but refusing to accept that a four-year-old is playing you when you are fetching six or more bottles every night AND changing the resultant wet diapers is more of an issue with the adult than it is with the child. This is a job for the Super Nanny, not Rachel Ray!

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Comments (28)

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)

Mel 4-27-2008 @ 1:30PM

I think she sounds like a warm, loving, attentive mommy who is tuned in to her child's specific personality needs. She also makes a good point: it's not about being manipulated. It's about giving your child what she needs. All kids' needs are different; her kid happens to need bottles at night. So what? Her daughter is "playing" her? Puhhhhhleasssse.

theresa 4-27-2008 @ 2:17PM

well for one thing her daughter is 4 years old & needs to be off the bottle , out of diapers. she needs to give her a little cup of water before bed & that's it.

Meagan 4-28-2008 @ 12:50PM

I don't get it... Mel you usually drive me crazy yet here, when you're merely expressing an opinion about the situation and not attacking or even disapproving of ANYONE people have rated your comment down so that its nearing invisible. I suppose people can use the rating system however they like, but this seems a bit silly.

Mel 4-27-2008 @ 1:34PM

Also, you know, there's the issue of just accepting that Ms. Remini is doing what works for her family. That is, after all, the ParentDish dogma.

Amanda 4-27-2008 @ 2:24PM

if she still wants bottle feedings and diaper changes then she should have another baby! geeze she is not doing her daughter any favors by allowing her to be so controlling...the battles are only going to grow with her daughter! You can still baby your children without hindering their development!

Jasmine 4-27-2008 @ 2:27PM

I'm sorry....diapers? This is a four-year-old who is sleeping with her parents & drinking 6-8 bottles everynight... and wearing diapers?

Jenn 4-27-2008 @ 2:33PM

Although I did have to go back and double-check the daughter's age (did she say 4 years? or 4 months?), I was more wondering about the NUMBER of bottles she's drinking! I don't think my 2 year old drinks the equivalent of 6 to 8 bottles all day, no less at night. If the little girl is really that thirsty, then perhaps something more is going on than just being manipulative.
But yeah....although I think a 4 year old still in diapers and drinking from a bottle is a little strange, I also think that 4 year olds still breastfeeding is a little strange, yet there are all kinds of people who will leap to defend that choice! *shrug* Whatever works for her family. If they are spoiling her or "hindering her development," Mom & Dad will figure it out later!

d. 4-27-2008 @ 3:07PM

She is prob straving since the crack pot scientologists feed there babies barley water.

Katheryn 4-27-2008 @ 5:21PM

Wow. Harsh comments. Maybe some of you should look at how you parent your children and see if everything you do is perfect. I have an almost 4-year-old boy. He still wears diapers at night. I don't see how that's a big deal. He also wakes up thirsty and so we keep a sippy cup by his bed so when he wakes up he can get his drink. I don't see how this is a big deal at all.

Jen Henry 4-27-2008 @ 5:36PM

Katheryn,
I don't think it's a problem. I imagine a lot of people are in similar boat as you are. My 3 1/2 year old wears a nightime diaper and keeps a cup by her bedside. BUT I think the big difference between you and I (if I may be so bold as to make the assumption since I don't know you in real life) is that we're not getting up all night to give our kiddos drinks or change their pants. We managed to take a problem and solve it. If our child would like a drink during the night then fine...but we'll teach them the art of a cup near their bedside which is what many people do throughout their life anyway. I won't speak for you about diapers, but my daughter although her diaper is wet in the morning usually doesn't wake me all night to change her. She tends to sleep straight through and hasn't yet learned to wake when she needs to pee. When she does occasionally wake, we have her room, and the hallway lit by nightlights and an automatic sensor on the bathroom light so she can use the bathroom if she needs to.

Is it better parenting on my part? No, not at all. In fact if I had to call it any kind of parenting...I guess I would call it lazy parenting...after FINALLY waiting for my kids to sleep through the night I'm not about to hand that sleep back over. I'm lazy. I know when the next baby comes along I'll be right back to the beginning again.

Jen
http://furoreandfrenzy.com
http://parents2parents.org

joy 4-27-2008 @ 7:58PM

There is a big difference between a sippy cup with water and 6 TO 8 BOTTLES OF MILK AT NIGHT!! There is also a difference between wearing diapers at 4 and wearing pull-ups at 4 (at night) and little "first panties" during the day. I may not be popular for saying this but my mother would say that Leah Remini is lazy... Yeah, yeah she is a first time mother... so were we all. We all make mistakes but I know even with my mother being there for me I read EVERYTHING I could get my hands on to be informed for the health and well-being of my child

Jen 4-27-2008 @ 7:14PM

I won't bash her as a mother. She is doing what she thinks is right and I don't think the child will suffer any long term harm from drinking that much water. I do hope it is water though!

4 year olds may still wear a diaper at night and that is fine. Most wear that diaper all night until the morning.

I would say that I could not do that as I feel night time is night time and we sleep. I think my children *need* a good 10 hours every night of continuous sleep.

But my only concern is that there may be a health problem since that many bottles or cups of water a night is indicitive of something else along with the wet diapers. I am worried that the child may have diabetes and that is very serious. Unfortunately since she is running from every doctor she may only get that diagnosis when her daughter drops from a diabetic coma. I don't mean to be alarmist but those signs are very, very serious and she should be tested.

Stacy 5-01-2008 @ 3:22AM

I agree with the issue that this may be a medical problem. These are clear cut signs of diabetes. Her child is thirsty all the time and urinates alot. I really think she should have her daughter checked by a doctor.
I do not agree with her giving her child all the control. If she doesn't do anything now to change this type of behavior, than its just going to get worst. We as parents have to give our children what they need not what they want.

Tamyu 4-27-2008 @ 7:37PM

I would actually be more concerned that there is an actual medical problem...

My son couldn`t drink 6 to 8 bottles a night, no matter how hard he tried, even if I filled them with chocolate milk. (Which I assure you, he would do everything in his power to suck down.)

I see no problems with sleeping with her parents - my son sleeps with us. I see no problem with a bottle at night - My son, going to be 4 in June still has a bottle of *gasp* formula before going to bed and when he wakes up in the morning. And I guess I don`t really see a problem with changing a night time diaper if it seems like it`s going to leak. Better that than the sheets.
But I just cannot understand SIX TO EIGHT bottles a night... Unless the little girl is falling asleep on the first few sucks and the remainder is being poured into the sink. Which I really don`t think is what is happening here if she has to have her diaper changed many times a night.

That much fluid over the night is, well, a bit strange. Even children who are tube fed while they sleep don`t get 6 to 8 bottles worth.

Jen 4-27-2008 @ 8:09PM

Well, I read the whole excerpt and it isn't water. It is milk. That cannot be healthy.

Marcia 4-27-2008 @ 8:24PM

I'm struggling with getting my 19 month old off of bottles right now and potty training. On one hand, she's excelling in her vocabulary and things she is learning to do on her own that I don't really mind her having a bottle in between some straw cups through out the day. I admit I want her to stay my BABY although clearly a little girl that can count to 14 and tell you what something is by the sound of it (train, plane, helicopter, animals...) and actually say all the words correctly... ugh it's a bit saddening over the pride I feel in her. I doubt I'd let it go past 2 years old, which is why I'm pushinng it now, but it's sort of understandable. She feels she's doing the best for her daughter and as long as she doesn't have her walking around town with a bottle embarrassing the child later on, who cares? I'm sure she takes better care of her daughter than most other celebrity mothers.

kelley 4-27-2008 @ 8:53PM

ok, so she cant set limits for her child...ridiculous....what will she do when her daughter is a teen and wants to stay out all night....get her out of the bed and off the bottle!!

Sherry 4-27-2008 @ 10:46PM

I couldn't care less what Leah Remini does or doesn't do with her child. However, I wonder if the comments and opinions on this would be different if there were not bottles and milk involved, and instead it was a case of extended breastfeeding and self weaning.

Tamyu 4-27-2008 @ 10:57PM

My opinion wouldn`t change a bit. If the little girl was still needing to breast feed every hour and a half (more than some newborns!) and was drinking an so much that it amounted to 6 or 8 bottles worth......
I would still be extremely concerned. No matter what she is drinking, and no matter what she is drinking it from, that is an awful lot to consume over night.