Honey Boo Boo’s parents have been accused of child abuse, according to a new report.
Six-year-old pageant queen Alana Thompson, aka Honey Boo Boo of Toddlers & Tiaras fame, and her family, who live in rural McIntrye, Georgia, were visited by the Georgia Division of Family and Children Services in March, reported The National Enquirer.
A source told the magazine that authorities who made the unannounced visit “found reason to bring the case to court” but a “court-appointed attorney” for June Thompson, the youngster’s mother, convinced the judge to “throw it [the case] out”.
The source said investigators were called to the home as a result of June and Mike Thompson’s unorthodox, and highly-publicized, parenting methods which include feeding Alana caffeinated drinks as well as roadkill for dinner.
The family now star in their own spin-off reality series, Here Comes Honey Boo Boo, which has also showed Alana Thompson go mud belly flop diving, adopt a pet pig named Glitzy, attend local food auctions with June and help her buy more than a dozen packets of chocolate milk powder, during one supermarket visit, using discount coupons.
Alana Thompson, aka Honey Boo Boo of Toddlers & Tiaras fame, and her family, who live in rural McIntrye, Georgia, were visited by the Georgia Division of Family and Children Services in March, reported The National Enquirer
The source added: “Honey Boo Boo’s upbringing raised eyebrows with neighbors.”
The initial visit by authorities is said to have occurred “shortly after filming began” on the new TLC series which premiered on August 8. It attracted 2.2 million viewers.
Although June Thompson sparked outrage back in January when she was seen on Toddlers & Tiaras feeding Alana “Go Go Juice”, a mixture of Mountain Dew and Red Bull, the authorities visited the family after catching wind of an online video that showed Alana dancing for dollars in a bar.
The video, which can still be found on YouTube, was not filmed by the network however showed Alana Thompson in a darkened room, dancing atop of table as colored lights flash around her.
June Thompson defended her daughter’s actions by explaining that Alana Thompson had been dancing in a college bar, not a sleazy one.
The “Go Go Juice” incident, which saw Alana Thompson being fed the liquid after having downed 15 bags of Pixy Stix, tubes of powdered sugar commonly referred to as “pageant crack”, attracted negative criticism of its own.
June Thompson was filmed instructing Alana to take “two big gulps” from an unlabelled bottle.
Within seconds, the change was apparent and the pageant hopeful was seen rapidly swinging her arms over her head and spinning around on the floor, exclaiming: “My Go Go juice is kicking in right now!”
Beauty pageant insiders speculate that some mothers’ “special juice” blends may even contain alcohol.
Describing how the drink made her feel, Alana Thompson said: “Go Go juice makes me laughy, and play-ey, and makes me feel like I want to pull my mommy’s hair.”
June Thompson has stolen much of the limelight away from her daughter in the new reality series.
During its debut episode, she was seen grinding up against a young man as her daughter played in a giant mud pit.
She has also been filmed taking her family to the supermarket to help her shop using discount coupons and take Alana to their local food auction, June’s favorite weekly activity, in order to bid on what appeared to be sugary donuts.
June Thompson has also admitted that she is obsessed with “couponing”, labeling it “better than sex” in a teaser for tonight’s new episode of the reality series.
The coupon queen, as she is commonly referred to, continued: “Couponing is a serious obsession. Anybody who uses coupons will tell you that it is an addiction.”
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The latest cover of Time magazine has caused outrage after Jamie Lynne Grumet, a 26-year-old mother from Los Angeles, has been pictured breastfeeding her 4-year-old son.
Under the headline Are you mom enough?, the young woman is pictured having her left breast suckled by a boy who appears way beyond usual breastfeeding age.
Jamie Lynne Grumet has said she will not stop breastfeeding her almost-four-year-old until he turns five.
She said on the Today show: “I’m hoping our fourth year is probably going to be our final.”
Jamie Lynne Grumet, a mother of two, who also breastfeeds her adopted five-year-old son named Samuel, appeared on the breakfast program with her son Aram.
As the youngster fidgeted in her lap, Jamie Lynne Grumet acknowledged that her attachment parenting methods have been deemed offensive by others.
“I understand some of the breastfeeding advocates are actually upset about this,” she said.
She attributed such outrage to the actual cover image. It is what she believes is a one-sided portrayal of attachment parenting.
“This isn’t how we breastfeed at home,” she said in regards to the photograph, which captures the child standing on a small chair in order to take hold of her breast in his mouth.
“It’s more of a cradling, nurturing situation [at home]. I understand what they’re [the advocates] saying,” she said.
The latest cover of Time magazine has caused outrage after Jamie Lynne Grumet has been pictured breastfeeding her 4-year-old son
Jamie Lynne Grumet, who said Aram is in fact “self-weaning right now”, admitted that she “did understand” that the cover shoot was intended to spark controversy.
“We knew exactly what we were going to get into,” she said.
“I felt like our family was one of the better ones to handle this because of my mom’s own personal breastfeeding.”
Jamie Lynne Grumet was breastfed by her own mother until the age of six.
“It did create a media craze and [it was meant] to get the dialogue… talking,” she said.
But she stressed that she does not believe attachment parenting methods should necessarily be adopted by all mothers.
“It’s not right for everybody… you have to do what is right for your baby.”
Dr. William Sears, the U.S. pediatrician who coined the attachment parenting technique, also appeared on the program.
He maintained that extended breastfeeding, a term that is commonly used to describe the act of breastfeeding past the age of two, is extremely natural.
“If you were on an island and had no doctors, no experts… this is what you would do naturally,” he said.
“I’ve never yet seen an attachment parented baby who’s become a school bully.”
Jamie Lynne Grumet said that while she bares close bonds with her two children, her relationship with her husband is just as important.
“I don’t feel like it takes away from my own personal life, my relationship with my husband is very, very important to me,” she said.
In the magazine’s larger feature story about attachment parenting, the mother said that she is able to recall memories of being latched onto her own mother’s breast.
She said: “It’s really warm. It’s like embracing your mother, like a hug. You feel comforted, nurtured and really, really loved. I had so much self-confidence as a child, and I know it’s from that.”
She has aimed to provide the same type of support to Samuel, who was adopted from Ethiopia in November of 2010.
Samuel was breastfed by his new mother instantly. He is latched to her breast “maybe once a month”.
Jamie Lynne Grumet said: “Being able to give him that [comfort] with the trauma that he faced was really, really important to me. I didn’t realize how much it would help my attachment to him.
“When his English improved, because the connection was there, he didn’t do it as much.”
The mother has written on her blog, which has now been taken down, about how much Aram enjoys being breastfed.
In one post, a photograph of Aram in the Playboy Mansion has been uploaded.
The picture was captioned with the text: “I’ve breastfed Aram at the Playboy mansion. I actually felt it was the most appropriate place on earth to do it.”
There is no explanation to explain why she believes this.
