Agreed that its what every parent wants but there are people in this country, living in poverty, who can sing a damn sight better than her.
IMO she has left them, I'd rather spend my life poor than sacrifice time with my kids.

Sorry that you think i'm being harsh - I was expecting some of this kind of reaction so I guess i'm fair game but I can absolutely say without a shadow of a doubt that I could never, EVER leave my daughter behind for months on end, especially in a country that is apparently so awful (which by the way isn't completely accurate).

I would find another way, come hell or high water unless I knew that I was so amazing that I would get a deal or loads of money in no time. With her not-very-great voice she must have known it wasn't be going to be a short trip and I just don't understand how she can do it.

I just don't buy into the sob story i'm afraid - something just doesn't fit right.

So u think its ok for a mum to just abandon her kids like that?

Gizzy you don't live Madonna's life how would you know you couldn't leave your kids? My grandads wife throught she couldn't but she had too!!

Exactly.

Mmmm, not so sure. After all, they do get to speak to her via the medium of computer - no different to actually having your mum there with you is it!

(Miaow)!

You dont think kids need the love of their mother? (and father of course)
Im all in favour of the mother having a career, but to just jet off to the other side of the world like that to have it, is not right at all

I don't like sob storys either but with this one I understand it because of my family situation but not everyone is going to understand!

No I don't think its okay to just leave your child, but we don't live in the phillipenes we live in the UK where we are looked after to an extent.

Granted, but I can say that I wouldn't have brought kids into the world in the first place if I was living in a place like that.
As far as I'm concerned, I had them, they are my responsibilty, not the grandparents or whatever.

Whatever, at the end of the day, if she could afford 1 plane ticket, surely she could afford 2 more with a bit more saving and take them with her - if Britain won't let anyone go into absolute poverty, surely they would be better off here?

No matter what anyone says, I can't abide people that just leave their kids for what is essentially a hobby. Like I said before, its not like shes going off to do manual labour is it?

It all seems such an act to me, which would be a bit more bearable if she could sing.

Abandon's the wrong word. She's making a living, a sacrifice, for them to have a better life - what hundreds of thousands of parents do everyday, everywhere. You see it in places a lot lot worse than the Philippines, it goes without saying. But you see it in rich economies too - parents who work 24/7, and I have to say for much more selfish reasons than for their children.

No one has to like her singing or her story. But I don't think people should rush to assumptions about how easy or hard she has, based on a few minutes on television.

Yes I know but I don't understand how people can comment when they haven't been in the situation themselves...Madonna probably finds it so hard to get up in the mornings without her children! she's probably guilty as sin but when she's got a good job and money she'll look back and realise she did the right thing at the time! It's so much harder for people who live in the Phillepenes and various other countries in the world..IMO UK have it lucky!

Doesnt do much for the bonding though

My wife's Filipino. Lots of these women and couples too, have kids and send them to the Philippines so they can work. It's ridiculous.

Whatever? You may not agree with what Madonna is doing but I think she's done a brave thing leaving her children and I wish her all the very best!

Well I thought perhaps she already was working in the UK on not a lot of money, has an ok singing voice, saw BGT, and thought it was an opportunity to help her kids a bit faster.

And you can't just bring in kids to live here. She obviously has a work permit and they don't. They'd just get deported if they overtayed. I seriously doubt she saw BGT from abroad and thought, "now that's what I should do, spend a fortune on a long shot to earn £100,000"

And plane tickets are expensive. It's anywhere between £600-£800 per person, a fortunenparticularly when you have nothing.

Sounds exactly like abandoning them to me - im sure they'd have an even better life if she was there with them in person

Well, if the phillipines is that bad, and England looks after people better, why not bring your kids over here? She would be looked upon favourably because she does actually work and support herself and would therefore get other help too. With that knowledge, it just doesn't make sense what shes doing.

And I know you're speaking from the heart because of your step-nan but i'm speaking from the heart as a mother. Going off to be a bog standard pub/club singer to a country that would most likely help support her kids while she did that, but then leaving them in an 'awful country' instead seems very strange to me.

Abandoned them? If she had done that she wouldn't have contact with them for goodness sake! There's a difference....

You can't just bring your kids over here if you've nothing to give them can't you understand that?

Link to BBC article about the Philippines being forced to export skilled workers as maids to prop up their economy.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asi...ic/6194333.stm

She may not be allowed to bring her kids here. It's not an automatic right. There are strict rules. She may even be here illegally for all we know. A lot are.

Using her kids in the sob story has simply turned the public against her.
She has simply abandoned them no matter how you dress it up

I agree with OP.

I think Shows like X factor and BGT is drilling the sob stories too much.
Every introduction to a performance is full off sappy songs, dramatic music and the contestants whining about how bad their life is and why they hope the show would better the lives!!! BORING!! Just sing or whatever. All i care about.

Its a sob story if ever I saw one. I'm sorry but claiming poverty yet the video showed her waving at her kids on the other end of a 'smooth' broadband connection and webcam!!! Certainly had a fair few of her family/friends in the audience too, I know the tickets will have been free, but sure travelling etc wouldn't have been! All a little too deliberate for my likely, don't do a sob story, makes out to be too desperate!!! Sorry!