Safety in Hollywood: What All Moms Can Do to Protect Their Broods

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With the explosion of tabloid journalism in the past couple years as well as the rise of celeb news blogs and websites, it seems like slipping past the crowds unnoticed is a thing of the past in Hollywood. Stars such as Jennifer Lopez, as Mommywood reported last week, are reportedly spending huge amounts on safety. (Sources claim that J. Lo added eight new members to her security team, spending $600,000 to keep her new twins safe). Last week, Victoria Beckham also enlisted some extra hands for her son Brooklyn’s birthday to make sure her and her children especially didn’t have to worry about unwanted guests.

There have always been crazies trying to get close to many A-list moms and dads — Catherine Zeta-Jones, Tom Cruise, Brad Pitt, and Colin Farrell are just some of the stars dealing with stalkers. But now that photos of Hollywood families can garner millions of dollars, child safety and protection from the shutterbug hordes has never been more important.

Two celeb parents spoke out last week about the issue. Ryan Philippe, formerly married to Reese Witherspoon, told W magazine that he spends,”a lot of time just holed up in my house [with children Ava and Deacon]… I’m thinking of leaving here.” Ryan calls Los Angeles and the celebrity scene “a really disturbing environment to bring up a child in.” He said that going out of his house always becomes a production and it affects his children negatively.  “I don’t really go out because I know it’s going to turn into a photo shoot,” Ryan said. “It’s really scarring. It definitely does a number on my eight-year-old daughter. . . She worries about what she’s wearing when she leaves the house because she knows her picture will be taken.” Not only is Ryan seeing his daughter’s self-consciousness growing because of the constant photographs, her quality of life is also being affected. “She’s worried about friends at school who come up to her and say they see her in magazines,” he said.

Mary-Louise Parker, mom of two kids, says that the constant photographs come with the territory of being in the spotlight, but she can’t grasp why there aren’t any boundaries. As she told the New York Times, “I understand the fascination, and I understand the curiosity, but at the same time I understand the fascination and curiosity of staring at someone who has fallen off their bicycle and has a bloody nose,” she said. “Does that mean you should stand there and point and look at them as though they can’t see you? I don’t think so. Does that mean you should take a picture of them? Probably not. Does that mean you should take out your cell phone and film them so you can put it on YouTube?”

On the other side of the spectrum is Denise Richards, who is willingly placing daughters Sam and Lola in the spotlight with her new reality show, which is still untitled as of now. Sensing that this would adversely affect his children, ex-husband Charlie Sheen tried to stop their appearing in the show with legal action. His request was overturned, when a judge said he couldn’t see the show causing their children legitimate harm. 

Also willing to place her daughters in the center of public scrutiny is Dina Lohan, Lindsay’s mother, who also has a 14-year-old named Ali. She is set to premiere her new reality show this summer on the E! channel, and the subject centers on her adventures cultivating young Ali’s acting career. Lisa Berger, a E! network spokesperson told People magazine, “The Lohans are one of the most intriguing families in the entertainment industry today. This is a family that knows how to roll with the punches and come out on top. Dina is an incredibly hard-working, passionate mom that I think our viewers will find both relatable and highly entertaining.”

When children’s lives become entertainment, it’s clear there’s is a problem. What’s interesting to me is how extreme both sides of the spectrum are. A-list stars, such as Ryan and Mary-Louise, J. Lo and Posh, will do whatever they can to help protect their children from the three-ring paparazzi circus that seems to go hand-in-hand with their jobs today. But moms such as Denise and Dina invite the media coverage.

Does putting kids on TV really endanger them? I searched for answer from Kathleen Baty, also known as the Safety Chick. This public advocate helped pass the first national anti-stalking law after she was the victim of a kidnap attempt by an obsessive stalker.  “After fifteen years of living like a hunted animal, I came to the realization that living weak and in fear was going to destroy me if I didn’t turn the negative into a positive. That meant becoming proactive,” she writes on her website - www.safetychick.com. I spoke with her about Hollywood moms putting their kids on TV, despite the growing animosity in Hollywood to that sort of self-promotion and the involvement of their children in their high-profile careers.

Celebrity or not, we all can take steps to keeping our children safe. Read on for ten tips the Safety Chick shared with me...

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