Some celebrities are ultra secretive about their families. They might make an announcement when a baby is born, but they largely keep their kids off social media and out of the limelight. This is obviously a healthy decision in terms of respecting a child's right to privacy and keeping them safe from over-the-top fans and invasive paparazzi. But it is not such a great decision for keeping celebrity gossip fans happy. What can we say, we live for the inside scoop on the off-screen lives of the stars we love (or that we hate follow)!
And if we are being honest, as much fun as it is to coo over cute pictures of celebrity offspring, sometimes it is even more fun to indulge in the more snarky side of following famous people. And what could be more snarky than a collection of the celebrity parenting moments or decisions that we think are totally side-eye-worthy?
Look, we know that raising kids is hard and that every parent has moments when they make decisions that might seem regrettable if they got splashed on the pages of a tabloid. So we're not going to make judgments on whether these celebs are good parents or not (though there are one or two who legit seem questionable). That being said, we are going to argue that these are some parenting decisions that seem ill-advised, questionable, awkward, or just plain cringey!
Kristin Cavallari's Questionable Formula
In 2016, mother of three and former reality star Kristin Cavallari raised eyebrows when she shared her recipe for homemade baby formula with People. The article was quickly pulled off the magazine's website when parents and doctors pointed out that there are health risks with homemade formula. It turns out that starring on an MTV show doesn't actually qualify someone to be an infant nutrition expert.
Kourtney Kardashian's TikTok Permission
Everyone who even casually follows the Kardashians knows that Kourtney Kardashian is obsessed with being a mom. That doesn't mean that she always makes choices that are free from criticism. One example was a decision to let her daughter, Penelope, have both fake nails and a TikTok account that is filled with videos of her wearing makeup, lip-syncing to rap songs, and showing off her family's wealth. That's all pretty mature for a 9-year-old.
Maci Bookout's Dieting Drama
We're not saying that reality stars are more prone to parenting side-eye moments, but Teen Mom OG star Maci Bookout tests that theory. She made waves in 2020 when she talked about allowing her then-11-year-old son to follow a "very strict" diet so he could make weight for wrestling. Promoting diet culture is generally toxic, but counting calories of a still growing and active child? Yikes!
Elsa Hosk's Clothing Optional Pics
Swedish model Elsa Hosk is comfortable with posing for photos with little to no clothing (no shade on anyone for loving the skin they are in!), but she got some serious side-eye for a trio of pictures she shared on Instagram (which have since been removed) where she and her baby were both naked in bed, including one with them totally nude in front of an open window, looking out over New York City. That is quite the view!
Alec Baldwin's Phone Tantrum
Alec Baldwin had a major dad fail moment in 2007 when he left a voicemail for his oldest daughter, Ireland, calling her a "rude, thoughtless little pig." His daughter was only 11 at the time, and he also used that voicemail to drag her mother, Kim Basinger, as a "thoughtless pain in the ass," which is a major violation of the rule to not pull kids into the middle of divorce drama. He's spoken out about his regret for those comments, but they are still majorly worthy of side-eye.
Candace Cameron Bure Is a Spanking Mama
Candace Cameron Bure's kids are grown now, so likely out of the danger zone for being spanked, but we still give her the side-eye for her pro-spanking statements when they were younger. In 2008, she wrote proudly of her decision to spank her kids when they were as young as 18 months old as a way to teach "Godly submission." She claims spanking is not a form of abuse, ignoring countless studies that make it clear that it's harmful to children.
Kelly Clarkson Is a Spanker, Too
We love sassy singer Kelly Clarkson, but we have to give her the side-eye award for being willing to spank her kids. She said she "finds nothing wrong with spanking" when it comes to child discipline. It's sad to hear celebs we normally dig support the idea that people who love you are also allowed to hit you, as long as you are a child.
Kylie Jenner's Over-the-Top Birthday Parties
It's pretty normal mom behavior to want to throw a fun party for a baby's first few birthdays. But according to some estimates, Kylie Jenner has spent more than $1 million on birthday parties for Stormi so far, and the cutie pie is only 3! Her 2021 birthday party is worth a double side-eye because Kylie broke COVID-19 rules for her area related to crowds and masks for the princess-themed event.
Diddy's Excessive Sweet 16
Obviously one of the perks that frequently comes with fame is having extra money to spend, but that doesn't make it seem less excessive (or kind of gross) to spend more than $350,000 on a car for a 16-year-old. So sorry but not sorry, Diddy, we're side-eyeing that level of sweet 16 spoiling.
Farrah Abraham's Many Bad Choices
It's honestly a little hard to choose which bad parenting moment to side-eye Teen Mom alum Farrah Abraham for. Waxing her 3-year-old's eyebrows? Hitting her young daughter in the face with a vibrator? Expressing her plan to show Sophia her sex tape once she's 13 or 14? It's all so bad.
Coco Austin's Breastfeeding Jokes
Coco Austin has been very open about her extended breastfeeding relationship with her daughter, Chanel. We're not here to side-eye nursing choices, though there are some who do find it a bit odd now that Chanel is in kindergarten. But we do side-eye some of her recent jokes, including calling Chanel a "boob freak" and claiming that her husband, Ice-T, has one breast and Chanel has the other. That's almost certainly going to embarrass her daughter someday.
Anna Duggar's Family Choices
This one is tough. Is side-eye a strong enough word to describe the decision to both stay married to and have more children with a man who is an admitted sex offender and was on trial for child pornography? We know Anna is part of a subculture that puts the man at the head of the household and basically bans divorce, but for the sake of her seven kids we hope she is able to make future choices to keep them safe following his conviction.
Britney Spears' Moving Violation
We know Miss Britney Jean Spears was going through some things back in the day, but we still give totally side-eye the time when she was captured on camera in 2006 driving a car with her then-5-month-old son Sean unbuckled on her lap. No, ma'am, that's just not safe!
Kim Zolciak-Biermann: Plastic Surgery Mom?
Real Housewives of Atlanta and Don't Be Tardy star Kim Zolciak-Biermann has always been open about not being a fan of the natural look. From wigs and plastic surgery to fillers and Botox, she's done it all. While everyone has a right to make their own beauty choices, it's kind of sad that her young adult daughters both started getting plastic surgery and fillers as soon as they turned 18. She also got some side-eyes along the way for letting the girls wear tons of makeup and fake nails before they were even teenagers.
Travis Barker's Daughter's Scandalous Social Media
Travis Barker seems like a devoted dad to his kids, including 15-year-old daughter Alabama. Alabama has been highly active on social media, including posting videos of her dancing suggestively in front of her dad and sharing lots of pictures in heavy makeup and looking very mature for her age. Add to that photos of her flipping off people and seemingly being out partying. She even was recently suspended from TikTok for violating community guidelines. Travis, stop kissing Kourtney for a minute and come take this child's phone away!
Cardi B's Baby Birkin
Cardi B loves purses, especially the ultra-expensive Birkin from Hermès. She's rumored to have more than 25 of these bags, which start at $10,000 and can run as high as $100,000. While it's great that she wants to have a shared interest with her 3-year-old daughter, we side-eye the fact that she gave Kulture a $48,000 purse! Giving a child an accessory that costs the same as many people make in a year is bananas!
