Celebrities in Hollywood are often expected to act a certain way when it comes to raising kids.
A lot of fans believe that because of all the wealth, privilege, and opportunities surrounding the broods of some of the most famous people on the planet, those children experience no discipline and no rules. And as a result of such carefree parenting, children of celebrities can often lose their way as they navigate the world on their own.
But as it turns out, a lot of famous parents are just as strict as regular parents. Some are even tougher because they’re famous and know that their kids need an extra push to avoid becoming entitled or spoiled. Many celebrity parents have taken extreme measures with their children, including total technology bans, running houses that are completely free of junk food, saying no to presents at Christmas, and administering severe punishments if their requests are not met.
Of course, there are also those celebrity parents who do follow a carefree, modern approach to bring up their kids. There are those who don’t believe in regular schooling, or in punishing their children at all. Can fans guess who’s a strict parent, and who’s totally lenient?
Keep reading to find out how these celebs parent their kids!
25 Mila Kunis And Ashton Kutcher Don’t Want Spoiled Kids
Mila Kunis and Ashton Kutcher may be one of Hollywood’s it-couples, but they aren’t into passing down the luxuries of being A-listers down to their children.
Kunis has opened up about being tough on her kids because she doesn’t want them to end up being spoiled and entitled, which is fair enough!
Apparently, the couple has withheld presents on Christmas Day to teach their children to be humble and appreciate what they have already. It doesn’t get much tougher than that!
24 Jennifer Garner’s House Is A Junk Food-Free Zone
One star who’s honest and open about her stricter parenting style is Jennifer Garner. A proud mama to Violet, Seraphina, and Samuel, Garner tries to make sure her kids lead lives that are mostly unaffected by Hollywood. She instills order in the household, and part of that is keeping it free of junk food so her kids aren't tempted to snack on things that are unhealthy. Instead, she grows her own fresh produce at home and encourages the kids to eat lots of organic fruits and vegetables.
23 Cate Blanchett Is Her Kids’ Parent, Not Their Friend
When it comes to good cop and bad cop, Cate Blanchett is almost always the latter in her household. “My husband and I worry about our generation trying to be friends with their children rather than parents of their children,” the actress said.
“If you’re going to try and make your children like you, you’re in dangerous waters I think …”
More often than not, Blanchett plays the role of strict parent while husband Andrew Upton is a little more lenient.
22 Jessica Alba Isn’t Afraid To Hand Out Time Outs
Raised in a strict household, it comes as no surprise that Jessica Alba makes it a priority to discipline her children when they need it. Her go-to method is time out. “My kids are constantly snatching things out of the other one’s hand,” she told People. “So now it’s, ‘Stand in the corner and put your nose against the wall!’ My two-year-old can last fifteen seconds before she’s like, ‘Okay, I’m done!’ and then I’m like, ‘Wait, it’s not up to you!’ My five-year-old can go for some time, like a minute or two.”
21 Brad Pitt Raises His Kids With The Values He Has
Like other celebrities, Brad Pitt was raised by strict parents with traditional values. He has spoken candidly about taking measures to make sure his kids don’t get out of line and has revealed that he usually has to be harder on his boys than on his girls.
He believes it’s important that his kids show good manners and get good grades.
Now a single dad, Pitt is still in the process of organizing custody details with ex Angelina Jolie, whose approach to parenting is considerably more lenient.
20 Gwyneth Paltrow Is Strict About What Her Kids Eat
In some ways, Gwyneth Paltrow may be considered a less strict parent than some of the others in Hollywood, but there’s one thing that she won’t negotiate with her kids, Apple and Moses: their diet. It’s been reported that the actress follows a low-carb, gluten-free diet, and makes sure that her children follow the same eating guidelines. “Sometimes when my family is not eating pasta, bread or processed grains like white rice, we’re left with that specific hunger that comes with avoiding carbs,” she revealed.
19 Drew Barrymore Is A Disciplinarian
Drew Barrymore may seem like a carefree parent, but she’s actually stricter than people would expect her to be. When she spoke with Parenting, she said that she would refer to herself as a disciplinarian “because I think it shows that you care.”
But later, the actress added, “But that doesn’t have to negate being the silliest mom that ever lived.”
While Barrymore is tough on her kids from time to time, there’s obviously a lot of love flowing in that household!
18 Megan Fox Keeps Technology Out Of The House
With the speedy advancement of technology, parents are having to adapt to the way in which they raise their children. Megan Fox is incredibly old school when it comes to technology and apparently doesn’t allow her kids to watch television shows, use the internet, or use any other kind of digital entertainment. Every now and then a film is allowed, but that doesn’t happen often, according to Brightside. There have been mixed responses from fans, with some saying that the star is taking things too far.
17 Kourtney Kardashian Won’t Allow Her Kids To Eat Just Anything
Another celebrity mom who watches what her kids eat is Kourtney Kardashian. In one episode of her family’s reality show, Kourt tried to get the kids to eat gluten-free pizza (which had hilarious results).
“I have noticed a great positive change in behavior with my children when we stick to a gluten-free and dairy-free diet,” she said.
“I don’t think everyone needs to eat this way, but we had muscle testing done, which showed we all have sensitivities to corn, gluten and dairy.”
16 Hugh Jackman Wants To Keep His Kids Down To Earth
Many celebrity children are in a position of privilege and have access to much that other kids just don’t get the chance to experience. And because of that, Hugh Jackman is especially strict on his children. “I constantly talk to them about respect and gratitude,” he told Parade magazine. “I say, ‘Unfortunately, I’m going to be tougher on you than I would be if I wasn’t famous, because people are actually going to be less tough on you in life.”
15 Gordon Ramsay Won’t Let His Kids Fly First Class
Sharp-tongued celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay could probably afford a private jet for each one of his kids.
But in order to keep them grounded, he doesn’t even allow them to fly first class when they travel.
“They haven’t worked anywhere near hard enough to afford that,” he said. “At that age, at that size, you’re telling me they [need] to sit in first class? No, they do not. We’re really strict on that.” We can’t say this is surprising—if anyone was going to be a tough dad, it would be Gordon Ramsay!
14 Jennifer Lopez Doesn’t Like Tablets During The School Week
Like some of her fellow Hollywood moms, J.Lo doesn’t see the point of overstimulating her kids with too much technology. In fact, it’s a rule in her household that during the school week, the kids don’t get to use iPads or tablets. However, when Sunday comes around, J.Lo does what’s called ‘Sunday Funday’ where she forgets about some of her strict rules for the day. The kids are allowed to sleep in on Sunday, and they’re finally allowed to play with their tablets!
13 Don’t Mess With Solange Knowles
Solange Knowles has a clear-cut method of disciplining son, Julez. She revealed that she rarely has to use it, but when she does, she means business.
“If he gets completely out of line, I do the three steps,” she said. “One is the look and talk. Two is taking away something of value to him.”
Knowles confessed that when the first two steps don’t work, she uses more hands-on methods. “You don’t have to do it often, like twice or three times a year. And he remembers it.”
12 When Reese Witherspoon Gets Mad, She Gets Southern
It’s hard to imagine Reese Witherspoon mad, but the actress has admitted that when her kids really annoy her, she tends to revert back to her Southern roots. “When I get really mad, I get really Southern,” she told Conan O’Brien. “I’ll give you a sit-to, which just means you have to sit down and listen to what I have to say. If you really make me mad, then I give you a what-for, which is a whole other thing you don’t want to get involved in.”
11 Mel B Admits She’s A Strict Mom
We might finally understand why Mel B was the type of Spice you don't want to mess with. The singer told Mother And Baby that she’s quite a tough parent. “I’m a strict mom …I’m all about routine, especially during the week when it’s a school day, I help them with their homework …”
Though she knows when to lay down the law in her home, the former Spice Girl also knows how to have fun with her kids.
“ … then on a weekend, we’ll get to hang out with Justin Bieber.”
10 Julia Roberts Has Her Kids Eating Healthy Food The Majority Of The Time
A lot of Hollywood parents are especially concerned with what their children eat. Brightside reported that Julia Roberts is pretty strict when it comes to her kids’ diets, and tries to have them eating healthy food the majority of the time. Being kids, they sometimes can’t stay away from sugar and dessert, but Roberts is reported to be adamant about making this a rare thing. Their day-to-day life consists of nutritious food that will help them stay healthy.
9 Madonna’s Kids Have Chores
Famous for being a rebel, Madonna isn’t the first person you’d think would be a strict parent.
But as it turns out, the values she was raised with have made it into her parenting style.
Madge is known for being one of the strictest parents in Hollywood, and this first came to light when she revealed that she took away daughter Lourdes’ clothes after she refused to clean her room. It’s also been reported that the superstar does not allow her kids to watch television.
8 The Beckhams Have Taught Their Children Manners
David and Victoria Beckham make sure that growing up in the spotlight doesn’t mean their four kids don’t have rules to follow. Most importantly, this A-list couple has instilled good manners into their children. “We’ve always been strict with the children,” Victoria told E!. “They have great manners. They always say ‘please’ and ‘thank you’ and I think that’s very important.” The former Spice Girl has revealed that the one area she can’t discipline her children in is playing sport in the house. That’s probably to be expected of David Beckham’s offspring!
7 Julie Bowen Sets Limits That Can’t Be Broken
Modern Family star Julie Bowen shares three kids with Scott Phillips, and she believes in setting limits to keep her kids in line and stop them from becoming spoiled.
“It’s not about everybody being happy all the time,” she told Working Mother.
“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.” Bowen believes that “being your kids’ best friend is not always the best parenting choice.”
6 Denzel Washington’s Kids Respect Their Elders
The kids Denzel Washington shares with wife Pauletta are now all grown up, and they’ve become adults with a sense of respect. That’s because the Washingtons raised them to respect their elders. The kids were always taught to say ‘sir’ and ‘ma’am’ while speaking to adults, and this set the foundation for the common courtesy that they still have today. It could be because of this strict form of parenting that none of the Washington kids were ever involved in any negative news.
5 Not Strict: Angelina Jolie
On the flip side, there are several parents in Hollywood who aren’t strict and believe in a much more lenient approach to parenting.
Angelina Jolie is famous for her new-age parenting methods, which involve allowing her kids to choose the subjects they study, even at elementary-school age, and focusing on things like learning a foreign language.
Jolie encourages her kids to spend one-on-one time with her and also doesn’t like to show negative emotions in front of them.
4 Not Strict: Celine Dion
Celine Dion likes to keep her family life private, so we don’t know too much about her parenting style. But some details have been revealed which make it seem like she’s a lot less strict than we would have thought! Dion decided that she wouldn’t force her son to cut his hair, even as a baby and toddler. Instead, she let him choose when he wanted to cut it. In the end, he finally cut it at the age of eight because it was a requirement of his school.
3 Not Strict: Jada Pinkett-Smith
Jada Pinkett-Smith might be the mother of all carefree parenting. She and husband Will don’t believe in punishing their kids, Jaden and Willow, at all.
“ …we give them as much control over their lives as possible and the concept of punishment, our experience has been, it has a little too much of a negative quality,” she explained.
She continued, “So, when they do things—and you know, Jaden, he’s done things—you can do anything you want as long as you can explain to me why that was the right thing to do for your life.”
2 Not Strict: Kim Kardashian-West
From what we can tell, Kim Kardashian-West falls into the category of a lenient parent. What makes us think this? When her daughter North was just four years old, Kardashian had her take a photo (that some would say was not cool for a child to see) of her, that the reality-star later posted to social media. Kardashian later said that she wants her kids to be comfortable with their bodies and the way they work. There’s nothing old-fashioned about this household!
1 Not Strict: Pamela Anderson
We wouldn’t have guessed that Pamela Anderson would be an overly strict mom, and it looks like we were right. The model’s approach is pretty modern when it comes to dealing with her sons, Brandon Thomas and Dylan Jagger.
She said that she actually wanted them to “experiment” with things in life as they were growing up as long as it was “in moderation.”
In many households with traditional rules, there’s a total ban on this kind of behavior, so this definitely counts as a carefree parenting style!
Sources: Woman’s Day, Moms.com, Madame Noire
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