It's a sad day when a court declares that Kevin Federline is a better parent:

Britney Spears was ordered Monday to surrender custody of her children to ex-husband Kevin Federline.

Superior Court Judge Scott M. Gordon ruled that Federline will take custody of Sean Preston, 2, and Jayden James, 1, beginning Wednesday "until further order of the court."

In February, I suggested that Britney was driven off the deep by watching her first love, Justin Timberlake, do a star turn at the Grammy awards.

But let's face it: Britney's problems have much deeper roots. Her show-biz childhood and her precocious stardom pushed her prematurely into an adult role, while simultaneously not allowing her time to grow up. Now, in her mid-20s, she's an over-the-hill divorced mom with the emotional maturity of a 14-year-old.

This is not the media's fault, no matter what Chris Crocker says.

-- Robert Stacy McCain, assistant national editor, The Washington Times