In a Colorado Court this morning Richard Heene pleaded guilty to the charge of attempting to influence a public servant. The Heene family was brought into the media spotlight in October when a large helium balloon broke free from their yard, and flew high over Colorado. Heene's wife, Mayumi, called 911 saying their 6-year-old son, Falcon, was in the balloon. Rescuers frantically tracked the balloon for 2 hours, and brought it down safely, all this as millions of tv viewers watched on nervously. It turns out that Falcon never was in the balloon, he had been safe at home the whole time, with his parent's knowledge. The Heene parents had planned this as a publicity stunt for weeks "to make their family more marketable for future media interests", even instructing their children on how to lie to authorities. Richard Heene could end up with as much as 90 days in jail, and Mayumi (charged with misdemeanor of false reporting to authorities) could serve 60 days.
One of my biggest pet peeves is stage parents. Parents who tirelessly push their children into the spotlight in order to reap the glory for themselves. The children who are stuck in such a demanding situation never seem to turn out ok. Just look at the lives of former child stars. Drugs, alcohol, depression, rehab, eating disorders, divorce, bankrupcy. These are just a few of the side-affects of a childhood in the spotlight, if you can even call it a childhood. This story about the 'balloon boy' is stage parenting taken to another level. The Heene parents were so desperate for attention that they were willing to fake the near death of one of their children, and willing to corrupt their children by training them to lie to authorities. I can't think of an example of more irresponsible parenting. Obviously not a single thought went into the well being of their children as the Heenes plotted this publicity stunt. I think that after exibiting such direguard for their kids mental and physical health these parent should have their custody revoked. I only hope that Falcon and his siblings can grow up in a safe and loving environment where people actually care about their well-being. Hopefully the destructive actions of their parents haven't already corrupted their futures.
Source: http://www.cnn.com/2009/CRIME/11/13/balloon.boy.heene/index.html?eref=rss_topstories&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+rss%2Fcnn_topstories+%28RSS%3A+Top+Stories%29
One of my biggest pet peeves is stage parents. Parents who tirelessly push their children into the spotlight in order to reap the glory for themselves. The children who are stuck in such a demanding situation never seem to turn out ok. Just look at the lives of former child stars. Drugs, alcohol, depression, rehab, eating disorders, divorce, bankrupcy. These are just a few of the side-affects of a childhood in the spotlight, if you can even call it a childhood. This story about the 'balloon boy' is stage parenting taken to another level. The Heene parents were so desperate for attention that they were willing to fake the near death of one of their children, and willing to corrupt their children by training them to lie to authorities. I can't think of an example of more irresponsible parenting. Obviously not a single thought went into the well being of their children as the Heenes plotted this publicity stunt. I think that after exibiting such direguard for their kids mental and physical health these parent should have their custody revoked. I only hope that Falcon and his siblings can grow up in a safe and loving environment where people actually care about their well-being. Hopefully the destructive actions of their parents haven't already corrupted their futures.
Source: http://www.cnn.com/2009/CRIME/11/13/balloon.boy.heene/index.html?eref=rss_topstories&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+rss%2Fcnn_topstories+%28RSS%3A+Top+Stories%29
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