It might be the fact that I’ve been losing faith in the Hollywood crowd generally or it could be that I’m a parent, but I found the newest celebrity headline particularly atrocious: “Richie Sambora Busted for DUI…Daughter Was in the Car.”

Except for that last part, this story wouldn’t get more than a second glance, nothing more than a normal “celebs behaving badly” newsflash, but that little detail, I think all Moms will agree, is a huge deal. Sambora was stopped a little before 11 pm last Tuesday after police noticed him “weaving on the road.” In the car was his girlfriend, his 10-year old daughter Ava, and Ava’s friend. Which is not just destructive behavior – it’s destructive parenting. No one has to tell him what could have happened to his child had he not been stopped, but this begs a number of other questions, not the least of which is “What was he thinking??” (Not to mention - was his daughter with him while he was drinking? And what kind of example does this set?) Not only did he endanger her life and the life of someone else’s child, but he might be the worst parental role model to hit headlines since Britney Spears.  As most Hollywood watchers know, Ava just recently had to deal with her parents’ divorce (her mom being Heather Locklear) and her father’s entry into a treatment facility last summer (not so shockingly, for alcohol abuse), but now she also had to deal with the type of bad parenting that has the potential not just to seriously endanger her well-being, but to set an example that puts her on the wrong path for the rest of her life. The bottom line is this: if celebrities are going to ruin their lives, that’s their own choice. But let’s leave the kids out of it.

To read the full article, go to: www.people.com/people/article/0,,20186447,00.html?xid=rss-topheadlines  

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