Celebrity moms… they’re just like us. Yes, they are. They might be gorgeous and leggy and charismatic (with killer sunglasses), but they’re still mothers… with problems, questions, dilemmas… and answers. Recently, I was privy to a few impromptu parenting lessons from celebrity moms. Thought I’d pass them on to you:
Actress Elisabeth Rohm.
Actress Elisabeth Rohm (the statuesque knockout from Law & Order) chooses to parent “As If.” At a recent launch event for a fabulous new resource Live Health Online (which you’ll find out more about on this site in coming weeks… yours truly is also one of the Blog Ambassadors), the German-born actress credited her mom for creating a ‘village’ of her most inspiring friends around her as a child, to guide her as she matured. Elisabeth shared how she now depends on her own ‘village’ of caring friends to help provide grounded and diverse influence for her young daughter, and how keeping her village close is imperative to keeping her daughter’s routine consistent. As an artist, Elisabeth is sometimes called for jobs that take her (and now, her daughter) to remote locations for weeks or months. “I act ‘As-If’… ‘As-If’ [her daughter] we’ll attend summer camp the full term… ‘as-if’ she’s going to complete the entire school year in one place…” citing how she’ll sign up and/or pay for activities/lessons, even if there’s a chance she might get a gig that requires travel. Elisabeth stressed the importance of keeping her daughter’s world as consistent and stable as possible, and how she doesn’t want her work schedule to dictate what her daughter can and can’t participate in. “I usually try to get a refund [on program costs, etc], but if I end up losing out on the money I spent, then that’s my issue to deal with.” LESSON: Busy/working parents must stay solid and stable (on the outside, anyways) for kids’ confidence, routine and social participation. Life can change, and changes can be tackled as they come up. No need to worry ahead of time.
Viola Davis… and toddlers with lollipops.
Two-time Oscar-nominated actress Viola Davis (superfan here!) constantly reminds her young daughter about her most important qualities. “I ask her: ‘What’s the most important part of your body?’ She says: [imitating in a little girl voice] My heart. What’s the second most important part? [again, in a sweet little girl voice] My head.” Sounds a lot like dear Aibileen to me. LESSON: Tell your kids, over and over, how important they are. Even if they’re just babies, they can never hear it too much and you can never start too soon. Children’s self-worth blossoms when adults raise them up. (NOTE: Viola’s heart and head are in the right place too: She’s an ambassador for The Safeway Foundation and The Entertainment Industry Foundation’s campaign to end child hunger in America. As a child, Viola was hungry. At a private panel discussion, she recently shared how, as a child, she’d eat food off the floor and from trash cans, how she depended on donations from teachers to keep her clothed and nourished and how she felt shameful about not being capable to ask for help at such a young age. Her vivid description of her childhood – about how thankful she was for paid lunches at school – moved some of us to tears. “The only thing I remember was fighting sleep, fighting to stay awake [in school, because she was hungry]. Invest in kids, invest in their potential.” Join Viola and donate to Hunger Is… for the 1 in 5 kids – 17 MILLION children – that are at risk for hunger in the USA.)
Ali Sweeney. Not afraid to smile and say ‘no.’
Actress, Author and The Biggest Loser Host Alison Sweeney isn’t afraid to tell her kids NO in the name of being a responsible parent. When it comes to rules and guidance, “I say things twice and that’s IT. My kids know that.” Between dishing with The Moms about her latest juicy novel Scared Scriptless at Los Angeles’ decadent Duff’s Cakemix (yes, I was shoving glitzy turquoise cupcakes into my mouth), Ali unapologetically admitted to keeping a strict house at all times. “Discipline is a commitment.” She confidently continued, “I take the reigns,” reminding us that, even though her own daughter is just five years old now, she’ll soon be fourteen and does NOT want her girl to be raised with the perception that teenagers run the house. (A mom after my own heart.) LESSON: The mom is in charge. Be consistent. Be fearless and firm to raise fab kids. True, you might fight here and there, but they will still love you… and they will respect you.
WHICH CELEBRITY MOM’S ‘FILOSOPHY’ IS YOUR FAVE?
