Mrs. Barrett-Dewitt

[aln1982]

I was surprised that I didn't see a thread for her (maybe I just missed it) since I know a lot of people can't stand her. I actually kind of like her - or like reading about her at least. It does annoy me how she is scatterbrained and neglectful of things in Dawn and the Impossible Three but some people who I really like in real life are like this, too. Maybe this is one reason I like Mrs. Barrett - she reminds me of them. I also think that she means well and does try hard to do the best for her kids. Despite her disorganization - and some people are just like this by nature - she seems like a good mom. I especially liked her in Here Come the Bridesmaids and how she held Marnie during the wedding and took Suzi to drop the cookie crumbs for Santa (two of my favorite parts of the book)
I also think she is more interesting to read about than parents without a real personality. Mrs. Newton and Mrs. Perkins are examples. They seem like good moms but are pretty underdeveloped characters so are boring to me.
On another point, I can't stand the Dewitt-Barrett combo but do like Franklin and Mrs. Dewitt together - just hate the issues their relationship causes between their kids.

[sugarmonkey]

I am one of those that can't stand Mrs. B-D. I'll agree she is more interesting to read about, but I always see her as trying to appease her kids so they will stop complaining. I can also see her as pulling a helpless single mother act in order to snare Franklin. She's "model gorgeous" but not 'with it' by any means so she's not a threat to Franklin or the other adults in the series. If she had been more...intelligent (for lack of a better word) but still disorganized I wouldn't have such a problem with her.

Of course my judgement may be affected by the fact that I just got done reading Sea City, Here We Come and I can't stand her in that book. That whole I'm still getting used to being a single mom thing got irritating. Suck it up lady, you have kids to take care of.

[sotypical42483]

I can't STAND Mrs. Barrett! She seems very selfish to me, I pity her children. I feel like she's so wrapped up in her own life, she pushes her kids off on the BSC. Plus she's a freakin' slob - she spends all her time making her "chestnut curls" gorgeous and picking out "modelly" outfits that she doesn't have time for her kids. Arrrgh she drives me NUTS. I don't really have an opinion on Franklin/his kids - I'm wondering why people seem to dislike the Barrett/DeWitt combo so much?

[booboobrewer]

I'm wondering why people seem to dislike the Barrett/DeWitt combo so much?

I just think the DeWitts are boring.

[aln1982]

Agree about the DeWitts. I think Franklin is a pretty good guy (reminds me a little of Richard and Watson) and the kids might be okay without the Barretts. I hate how the two families of kids are always fighting. It gets old after reading about it in every book they are featured together in. I do like the rare cases where the kids get along but much prefer the Barretts in books like The Impossible Three.
Probably the reason I like Mrs. Barrett is because even though she is scatterbrained and totally disorganized, unable to do things for herself, etc. she reminds me of a friend of our family. She can't keep an appointment (or a job for that matter) to save her life, is so broke she might not have a house in a few months, uses every excuse in the book (especially the "I'm going through a divorce" one), can barely get her kids to school and doesn't make them be responsible. But (surprisingly I just love her because she is one of the kindest, biggest hearted people I know. I think I am probably seeing Mrs. Barrett as her. I tend to do that, which influences my views of the characters.

[msstock87]

I never had a huge problem with Mrs. Barret-Dewitt. She did seem to genuinely care about her kids, even if she was a little disorganized. The only thing that ever bothered me, was she would look fabulous all dressed up, but her kids were a mess.

[mckay]

I always figured the reason Mrs. B-D always looked so fabulous was because she was always leaving the kids with sitters when she was going to work or a job interview. Thus she made the effort to get herself together on those days.

[aln1982]

I never really noticed Mrs. B-D being dressed up, either. I always just got the impression that she was naturally pretty and maybe dressed a little different (younger maybe?) than the other "moms". I don't picture her as worrying about her looks any more than Elizabeth or Dawn's mom, who also dress up for work, etc.
By the way, did Mrs. B-D get a job and if so, what was it? I can't remember if it's mentioned.

[sotypical42483]

Mrs. Barrett does seem a lot younger than most of the other BSC client parents. this could be because she's simply more immature, though. I mean i wonder if she actually is younger or not - I can't imagine she'd be younger than say, Mrs. Newton who has a 4 year old as her oldest child, but you never know. then there's parents like Mrs. P who seems like she's probably 50 years old with a 3 yr old.

[inge]

I really, really dislike Mrs B-D for reasons mentioned above. I hate how she always looks perfect, but the kids look like a mess. I hate how she doesn't even noticed how hung up they get on Dawn. I just... aargh! Dislike her a lot. She's the impossible mom to me!

[lyricalangel]

sotypical42483 said:

Mrs. Barrett does seem a lot younger than most of the other BSC client parents. this could be because she's simply more immature, though. I mean i wonder if she actually is younger or not - I can't imagine she'd be younger than say, Mrs. Newton who has a 4 year old as her oldest child, but you never know. then there's parents like Mrs. P who seems like she's probably 50 years old with a 3 yr old.

In Dawn and the Impossible Three it says Mrs. Barrett is 33.

[aln1982]

I don't think age always has to do with actual chronological age but "mental age". Some 50 year olds act 25 and you don't think anything of it and some 25 year olds act 50 (I'm probably an example of that )). My aunt is in her late 40s but I always think of her as being about 30 because she looks and dresses like people that age. I also have a friend who is 36 and has three kids but I think of her as being in her late 20s at the oldest. In fact, a lot of people in their 30s now don't seem like the "moms" of the kids I grew up with. Maybe it's just my perspective is changing as I get older (because I'm now "ancient" - older than Wes )

[aln1982]

I just reread Dawn and the Impossible Three and see more of where everyone is coming from with dislike for Mrs. B-D. She is more disorganized/scatterbrained in this book than in later ones and does seem quite neglectful of the kids. At the same time, though, I think Dawn is magnifying the situation a little bit. I also tend to do this when I start to feel like something is "mine". (I often find myself doing this with other people's horses when I develop a certain attachment to them and come to feel like they are better off with me but I will use the words "mother", etc. here instead of horse to say what I am trying to By making the real mother seem even more awful, irresponsible, neglectful, inadequate (even though Mrs. B-D does show herself to be these things on many occasions), Dawn can make herself feel more responsible and needed because she is actually the better mother. Maybe this isn't what she is doing at all and I'm just going by my personal experiences but this was my take on the situation this time when I read the book.
As for the age thing, it was mentioned that Mrs. Barrett was 33 and Dawn called her a "young woman". I know she also thought Carol was "young" at 32 (that's good since I'm getting close - only about 7 years.)

[dawnomite]

I was thinking about her today when I was house cleaning actually (wow, I NEED to get a life...)
She's the type of person that I love to read about because she's interesting and, flawed and like you said, she has a real personality. If I knew her in real life though I think she would drive me crazy. Probably because If I had children I would probably be exactly like her (well except for the "looking like a model" part), which reinforces the idea that I should not have children even more.
I think having her get married made her far less interesting to me though.
Still, probably my favorite thing about her is the fact that she did Jazzercise (I'm a fitness instructor [who does not teach jazzercise] and any reference to specific fitness trends in non-fitness media always makes my day.)

[lyricalangel]

LOL. Gotta love those advertisement bulletins on this site. The one on this page said"Are you a slacker mom?" Hmm