Anyone who’s seen a single episode of the reality TV show “The Osbournes” will be familiar with daughter Kelly, who came under scrutiny by the mainstream media for being overweight. That pressure, Kelly says, was part of the impetus behind her developing a drug abuse problem while on the show.
Furthermore, she confided to talk show host and comedian Ellen Degeneres, although she felt that her mother Sharon was the “best mum in the world” and that she could tell her nearly anything, she kept her problem from Sharon because her mother had already spent so much time dealing with husband Ozzy’s recurring drug abuse problems.
Now, obviously, no one can cast aspersion on another person’s choices who hasn’t also been in the same situation. At the same time, however, it’s difficult to imagine a woman who’s displayed the same joie de vivre that Sharon Osbourne has on the show being so cold-hearted that she would turn her own daughter away for coming to her with problems, no matter what sort. I’m certain that Sharon, once she found out, was nothing less than 100% supportive of her daughter in her determination to become healthy.
As parents, we need to remind ourselves that our teenagers are under the sway of their developing bodies. They may be experiencing new sensations and emotions that cause their thought processes to become somewhat muddled. The best we can do for them is to be there when they reach out to us, and to recognize when they do — which won’t always be obvious. Balanced against this is the need to be their parents first and their friends second. They need the structure parents provide just as much, if not more, as they did when they were infants and toddlers. While we might sometimes be afraid to be too pushy, sometimes temporary resentment is the price we’ll pay for permanent security. In the long run, it’s the goal we should all strive for.
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