Jennifer Garner and her famous husband, Ben Affleck are used to a celebrity lifestyle.
But that in no way means that the parents-of-three want their daughters and son to grow up inside that A-lister bubble.
Nope, there may be some pretty good perks for Violet, 9, Seraphina, 6, and Samuel, 3, but getting away with poor behaviour isn’t one of them.
Jennifer spoke with US Magazine recently and explained that she is determined to keep her kids grounded in reality.
Contrary to what we may imagine goes on behind the closed doors of a celebrity mansion, Jen insists that her kids live by the same rules as regular kids.
Yep, they have to pick up their own toys, do chores, and remember to say ‘please’ and ‘thank you’.
Of course, like most kids, sometimes Jen’s brood isn’t always happy with the boundaries she sets for them.
She related a recent tantrum that her 3-year-old son, Samuel performed in a bike shop:
“Yesterday, we were at a bike store getting their bikes serviced and getting new helmets that fit and… my littlest one [Samuel] saw something he wanted. I had just said, ‘We’re not buying anything,’ and he threw a fit. The people at the store said to me, ‘Please let us just give this to you’ because he was so unhappy. And I said, ‘I’m sorry that he’s throwing a fit in your store and you’re so sweet to want to give this to him. And thank you for asking me first. But he’s going to have to throw a fit.’ I said no. No is no.”
“I said to my girls, ‘What do I mean when I say no?’ And they were like, ‘She really means no!’ So you just have to do it. It’s not pretty. I don’t think that I’m always the best at it but I try my best to be consistent and for them to know what they can expect from me.”
Isn’t it refreshing to see that celebs have real-life parenting challenges like the rest of us?!
It sounds like Jen is pretty down-to-earth and knows all too well the reality of a public meltown.
We wonder if she felt a little flustered and embarassed like we do when our kids throw a wobbly in the middle of the lolly aisle in Coles?
Maybe her acting talents mean she’s a little better at concealing her mortification than the rest of us.
Still, we can’t help but applaud Jen for her honesty.
This, coupled with her confession last year that yes, she has a permanent ‘baby bump’, and, no, she’s not pregnant, makes us feel like Jen’s all kinds of awesome.
We’ve love any mama who’s keen to keep it real and paint motherhood like it really is; imperfect!
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