Bristol and Levi: Getting Along as Parents, Not Partners

By Adrienne Ross - www.motivationtruth.com

Ron Devito covered this story here, and I will simply add my two cents:

News has emerged that Bristol Palin and Levi Johnston are moving forward and working together. That's all the talking heads need to hear and then they take off running with it--and get the information wrong.

Everyone wants something juicy to report. For example, "Good Morning America" and "The Early Show" quote a so-called source who said Bristol and Levi are spending a lot of time together and are a couple again. As usual, these outlets can't seem to discern fact from fiction. So let's set the record straight.

Radar Online got it right when they reported (emphasis added):

Sarah Palin’s daughter, Bristol, and their one-time outspoken nemesis Levi Johnston are back together—but just as co-parents to son Tripp, RadarOnline.com has learned exclusively.

19-year-old Bristol Palin told RadarOnline.com, "Levi and me are co-parents of Tripp and we are actively working on being good parents together."

What this means is two people who brought a beautiful baby boy into the world are doing what's best for their son. Of course, Bristol has been taking care of Tripp all along, and has done so under difficult circumstances. Levi, on the other hand, was bad-mouthing his son's family, particularly Tripp's grandmother, and he was dodging his financial responsibilities. I wrote then about Levi's "triflin'" ways here and expressed hope that he would take a turn for the better:

I believe there's hope for Levi; I really do. And I hope he grabs ahold of it soon because he's treading on very thin Alaska ice.

Now, as late in the game as it is, he appears to have seen the error of his ways and wants to do right by his son. For Tripp's sake, that makes me extremely glad. In the spirit of wiping the slate clean, however, I hope he will make a pubic apology to the Palins. That, of course, would be a true lesson in repentance and humility, a lesson that would mean quite a bit to his son in the years to come.

Perhaps young men could learn something from this experience and choose to "man up" right from the start. Levi's actions were detrimental to his family, and right now he seems to want to turn that around. What everyone should be doing is wishing him and Bristol well as parents who want what's best for their son, not being gossipmongers who twist a sound parental decision into something romantic, which it is not.