Dr.Guy posted a recent comment by actress Jada Pinkett Smith that started me to thinking in light of the recent Oscars (Pinkett Smith and husband Will Smith being in the field and all). Hollywood family men and women boast about their "having it all"; being career actors and parents as well, but does their boast have merit to it?

When the children wake up with a nightmare,who do they turn to? Mommy or daddy who are on a film shoot in Australia, or the ever present nanny, upon whose parenting skills the actors are reliant? Sure, some actors and actresses take their children with them on location, but the majority appear to prefer the stability of their children being in a fixed location, and therefore must leave them for extended periods of time,where the child's "parenting" is done via email and video links.

When the children get into fights,who goes to the school and deals with it? Mommy or daddy, or the limo driver? What about when they participate in sporting activities, class plays or spelling bees? I suggest that a close look at the day to day lives of these families would show that the majority of parenting is done not by these actors and actresses who "have it all", but by a variety of surrogates. I know from experience this is true of almost all two career families (except when one or both parents work out of the home).

They say when people die,not one person complains they didn't spend enough time at the office. As a parent, I would also suggest that not one person complains that they spent too much time with their children.