Sometimes it feels like parenting is a constant balancing act of trying to strike the right combination of enforcing rules and boundaries while also making sure that kids have enough freedom to be, well, kids. We all want our children to grow up to be good humans and to have some time in childhood that isn’t spent attached to a device. (Is anyone else just mentally exhausted from trying to figure out screentime rules and how to enforce them? Sometimes it feels like 90% of parenting is getting kids to go play outside!)
While there are many ways in which celebrity parents aren’t relatable (hello, money, multiple nannies, and traveling by private plane), we suspect that that many of them are also trying to figure out how to raise kids who are respectful, not spoiled (so, yeah, no Kardashians in this story!), and who have a good sense of boundaries. We’ve found quite a few celebrity parents who’ve talked openly about not wanting to be their kid’s friend, about enforcing screentime rules and social media restrictions, and about not being afraid to say no.
These surprisngly strict celebrity parents are perfect examples we can all point to when our kids complain about us being too strict. We’re not being mean — we’re just showing off all the things we have in common with Jennifer Lopez!
Chip Gaines
Julie Bowen
Modern Family star Julie Bowen isn’t afraid to set limits for her kids. In 2013, she told People that she’s learned that being your kid’s best friend is not always the best parenting choice. “It’s not about everybody being happy all the time. It’s about setting limits. In my house that makes my kids very unhappy, like tantrums-on-the-ground-twice-a-day unhappy. But the limits are set,” she said.
Madonna
When we were growing up, our strict parents wouldn’t let us watch Madonna music videos. It turns out that the nightmare woman for strict parents of the 1980s is actually a strict mom herself! In an interview with Interview, Madonna’s oldest child, daughter Lourdes (who is now 26) said her mom was so strict that the list of things she wasn’t allowed to do was “neverending.”
Candace Cameron Bure
Candace Cameron Bure has been famous almost her whole life, but she has said that being a mom is her top job. She describes her parenting style as loving, but strict. “I hope my kids would say that I’m a loving mom. They would also describe me as strict. We set firm boundaries, but there is always love and grace,” she told L.A. Parent.
“I’m the mom who needs to meet the parents before my kids can go to a new friend’s house. I want to know who they’re with, where they’re going. Even now that they’re driving, I want them to text me when they arrive and when they’re heading home. We work hard to keep our communication open and talk through any situation. I am always willing to listen. But I don’t always say yes. My goal as a parent is not to make my kids happy, but to guide them to be respectful, curious, responsible, resilient, kind, giving, and thoughtful adults.”
Nicole Kidman
Nicole Kidman is a strict mom when it comes to limiting screentime and social media access for her two youngest daughters. In a profile for Vanity Fair, she talked about keeping her kids phone-free. “They don’t have a phone, and I don’t allow them to have an Instagram. I try to keep some sort of boundaries.”
Viola Davis
Academy Award-winning actress Viola Davis has shared that she and husband Julius are determined to raise a daughter who isn’t spoiled. She told People that her “No. 1 fear” for her daughter is “entitlement,” so she makes sure her daughter is “accountable for everything.” She also prevents spoiling by keeping it basic on things like clothes. “I do shop at Target — I buy all her clothes at Target or H&M. And maybe, if I’m feeling really good, Nordstrom Rack.” We love that anti-Kardashian energy!
Kelly Ripa
Sometimes strict parenting starts with being really clear that we are not supposed to be our kids’ friends. Kelly Ripa subscribes to that theory and, as she once told Wendy Williams, she’s not afraid to enfore the rules, as her daughter, Lola, found out. “She recently lost her computer and phone privileges, so it’s like taking away oxygen,” Kelly said. “I don’t think she likes me, but I don’t care. I’m like, ‘I’m not your friend! I’m your mom.'”
