SKL,
I couldn't agree with you more, and disagree with "J" more either. I was the youngest child in a single-parent household. My mom worked two jobs, dealt with the health issues of my brother, and was an alcoholic all the while. I shouldn't neglect to mention that I was not exactly a wanted child. That said, I CHOSE not to drink, smoke, or do drugs as a teen. I CHOSE to get good grades and be on the honor roll ( my mom never even asked for my report card). I CHOSE to have a steady job at 15, because my mother could not provide the things I WANTED ( though, she provided all I needed). It is not the parents fault, it is either in you to go down the wrong path, or it isn't. Lay off the mom, and give the kid a good, swift smack: The old-fashioned way of handling unruly, self-indulgent children. Parents are too lenient on children these days, no wonder there is a whole, new generation of lazy, ungrateful, selfish, and emotionally void children cropping up.

You are right on with your comment. We were a family of three kids, and a Mom and Dad that commuted by train and worked in Manhattan everyday. From the age of 9 my brothers and I ( one was 2 years older and one was 1 year younger ) took care of a home in the suburbs, and cooked for the family. There was no woe is me crap.Her drug use and ultimately her addiction is her fault, not her mother's. As parents we will do what we have to do to help and protect our children, and her mother is doing just that. She is going to help her clean herself up no matter what it takes.

Blaming someone, is what most people do when caught. This spoiled brat should have seen the opportunities she had, because of her mothers work.

Not very interesting, just run of the mil...blame blame blame.

Hey Erin, you've got a spoiled little creep for a daughter who is blaming you for her problems.

stop the blame on others at 12 she was old enought to know rigth and wrong. but is allways easy to blame some
else,
guzzybear@aol.com

My son did the same thing and it didn't take long for him to realize that it was his doings and not anyone's fault but his. He is clean now and working hard to get his life together on his own.

I think that it is so much easier to put the blame on the parents who are only trying to make a better life for there children.rich or poor that is no excuse to do what you do. eventually you will have to make deceisions in life along the way for yourself, so if you make a wrong deceision is that your paren's fault to. these kids are smart and what they need is a good swift kick in the rear and a bite of reality .

Sorry this day and age a 12 year old knows what drugs are and they are not good for you!!!! Granted the mother might not of been there to tell her not to do it and that it is wrong but even if the mom was there 24/7 shounds like the girl wanted to do it anyway and just used that as an excuse. She was obviously looking to get attention and sought it out with the wrong crowd. Feel sorry for her but at the same time they need to take responsibility for their actions and there is not enough of that in todays society. Kids get off way to easy with the system.

I think people need to remember that she's still only 17 and still a minor. People are criticizing her as if she's in her 30's and still blaming her mother. The truth is, not many of us know the pressures of a famous parent, or how lost a child would have felt at the very vulnerable impressionable age of 12, 13 etc.... and yes, im sorry, i completely disagree with most posters, children DO need their parents and their parents attention.
Who says you cant work ? But NOTICE what's going on, that's what being a parent is.
People are talking about a generation of emotionally devoid children because the CHILDREN wont take responsibility for themselves ,. How awful that is to say, MAYBE its because of constantly emotionally devoid parents who are too interested in their own divorces, new relationships, new kids, new jobs, new classes,new social groups and new ways to shop, to accept that they made a commitment to put a child FIRST for the first 18 years of their life, and they simply don't do that any longer.
Erin wasnt a paragon of sanity to begin with, doesnt anyone even remember the movie????? I cant believe once again,our society LOVES to blame the victim, and make no mistake, as a minor, this child IS the victim of some pretty bad parenting. So she'll learn about addiction, know she has it, and move on from there.

I'm was a single mother who had to work 2-3 jobs and at the same time put myself through school in order to get better jobs. Unfortunately, my son thought the same way as erin's daughter. but i would really like to know what happened in the 18 yrs between my birth and my son's because when i was growing up i started babysitting my sister's at 10 so my parents could work and then at 12 i took a formal babysitting course at the fire department and started a babysitting service that was full time in the summer and part time in the winter until i was 15 at which point i started working in the public venue. so how come 30 yrs later leaving your child to work at the age of 12 is now suddenly a sin, and i bet she wasn't left alone but just didn't have her mother. So, 21 yrs after i gave birth to my son and worked and put myself through school to provide a decent life for my son he blames me for his drug use and inability to stay out of prison--however now i'm raising his son as a single grandmother. erin you can't do anything about the decisions your child makes after a certain age. All you can do is love them and hope that eventually they'll grow up. Unfortunately, that is not encouraged in the school systems now so they tend to take longer to learn how the real world works and we clean up the mess.

I can relate to both sides of this situation.

From the mother's point of view: My son also refuses to take blame for his misgivings.....from puberty - to presently as a 20 year old.

I love him unconditionally; and I will continue to let him know that.

From the daughter's point of view: I was once a teenager too! I drove my parents crazy, never "owning" up to my reckless behavior. I got over it......maybe towards my mid-to-late 20's?

I'm glad my parents loved me unconditionally and got me through my teen angst....without too much damage to our relationship.

I completly agree with you. I was that working Mom raising 2 daughters alone. When my kids were 9 and 10 I decided to go to college after having a family meeting. My kids understood the need and they supported me. My 10 year old made a list of everything I did and divided it with her sister for the nights I was in school. She posted the list on the refrigerator and made sure she and her sister had their homework done every night.

When my oldest started high school she skipping school, smoking, drinking, hanging out with the wrong crowd and experimenting with drugs. We were not on real good terms with each other at that time. I pulled her out of public school and put her in an all girls school. Although it was a very difficult financial burden I knew I had to do it. I took her to school on my way to work and she came home when I came home from work. After that year she understood the necessity of school and good grades.

It took me many years of night school to finish my education. Both my daughters went to college after high school and are very successful. They both tell me that I was a good role model and they learned good work ethics by seeing how I had to struggle to get an education and support a family at the same time. They now have children on their own and thank me every day for giving them the responsibility and respect at a young age. I think parents can work and still watch over children. You may not be popular with them and it takes sacrfices but it is well worth it in the end.

I agree. THis girl is just trying to manipulate the system- she will never recover from being a drug addict until she accepts the responsiblity for her own wrong doing. she should be proud of her mom not blaming her- shame on her.

Sounds like a spoiled kid who blames everyone but herself. Parents do what they can for their kids, its up to them how they turn out.

As a mother who lost her 31-year-old son to a drug overdose, I take umbrage with people who want to blame the parents. First of all, Brokovich's daughter needs to understand that we are not here to be our child's friend. We're the parent!!

Also she needs to stop blaming her mom for not being there all the time. I was a work at home mom and most of my friends who lost their child to drug addiction, were home with their children all the time too. It doesn't seem to matter.

I've written 3 books on addiction, interviewed many people. Until science discovers more about the brain and genes, we need to do the best we can to prevent our children using, but sometimes it just seems like a hopeless cause. There is an addiction gene (in fact there are many) and the ONLY way to not become addicted is to never do drugs.

Sheryl
www.theaddictionmonster.com
Addiction was his disease, not the essence of his life

B.S. There is no excuse for this young girl blaming her mother for her downfall. At 12 years old I was cleaning house, washing dishes, babysitting younger siblings and going to school. I was not shirking my chores or hooking school and letting down my parents and friends. Those of you who seek to blame the mother are only enabling young kids to continue their bad behavior and be irresponsible.

Let's see--you have a mother who, obviously, was pretty "wild" in her younger days---a mother who made irresponsible decisions by having children with three different men---BUT, she scratched and fought and did what was necessary to give them a better life than she had.

Now, "a better life" to Erin meant more money, more things, and meant her working constantly while other people raised her children. There is absolutely nothing Erin did that every working mother in the world isn't doing----allowing other people to raise their children. So, all of those who are screaming "neglect" must all be stay-at-home moms concentrating on building the characters of their own children. Otherwise, there is nothing Erin did that is any different than what you're doing.

So, let's imagine your daycare raised children reach the age of 14 without being killed in school by someone else's daycare kid who decided to thin the herd with a revolver-----

Are your kids not going to do drugs?
Are your kids not going to have sex?
Are your kids not going to lie, cheat, and steal?

Unless every parent posting in this blog have stayed home and raised their own children----then those same parents are in danger of having to live through the exact same challenges as Erin. Only difference----no one will read about your negligence in an article on the internet.

what r u talkin about! If ur under 18 really under 21 ur consider a non-adult. Kids think as kids a non supervised child inside r outside the house is trouble waitin 2 happen. The girl should have been left in the care of an adult. What if she had been raped r muder who would u have blamed?

If the mother tied the girl into a chair and administered the drugs then yeah the mother would be to blame. But that is not the case.
Even if the mother was away alot and I am sure the girl was not entirely left to her own at age 12. There must have been some kind of supervision for the girl while her mother was a way. The daughter just decided to take advantage of the situation and when she got caught she turned to her mother and started pointing the finger.

What is really sad here is that neither mother nor daughter is willing to take any responsibility. There is blame on both sides, but neither of them wants to see that. They both sound very self-centered. Even Erin's willingness to help her daughter is couched in self-aggrandizement. It's true-the apple really does not fall far from the tree.