Famous Parenting Styles: How Celebrities Raise Their Kids

Celebrities are endlessly fascinating, and how they parent their children becomes even more interesting when we have kids ourselves. But do these famous parenting styles actually work? Below we’re going to take a look at the authoritative, authoritarian, permissive, and uninvolved styles, and the celebs that are a fan of each—as well as a peek at some more unconventional approaches!

Contents:

• Understanding Celebrity Parenting Styles
• Authoritative Parenting Among Celebrities
• Authoritarian Parenting in the Spotlight
• Permissive Parenting: The Lenient Approach
• Uninvolved Parenting: When Celebrities Take a Hands-Off Approach
• Unique and Unconventional Celebrity Parenting Methods
• The Role of Nannies and Support Systems in Celebrity Households
• The Influence of Celebrity Parenting on Public Trends
• The Wisdom (or Otherwise) of Following Celeb Parenting Trends
• FAQs

Understanding Celebrity Parenting Styles

Many celebrity parents opt for one of four well-known parenting styles, either going all-out or adapting the approach to their child or situation. Here’s a summary of these styles:

• Authoritative — not overly strict, but parents set firm limits. An authoritative parent is responsive, supportive, and nurturing.
• Authoritarian — has strict rules, and high standards (typically inflexible), and uses punishments to encourage desirable behavior.
• Permissive — these parents endorse open communication and are warm and nurturing, striving to be actively involved in their kids’ well-being.
• Uninvolved — make few (or no) demands on their children, are generally unresponsive, and often dismissive, indifferent, or neglectful.

Authoritative Parenting Among Celebrities

Khloe Kardashian/Instagram

This famous parenting style is practiced by celebs including Khloe Kardashian and Kate Hudson. Khloe has two kids and prides herself on being a nurturing mom who sets firm limits. Her advice? “A schedule saves everything.” And who are we to disagree?

Kate Hudson is also a fan of the authoritative parenting style. A recent interview quotes her as being “much stricter than her mother” (actress Goldie Hawn), saying that, as moms, “you draw your roadmaps very firmly.”

There are many benefits to the authoritative parenting style. It’s typically a harmonious blend of nurture and support with fixed rules, meaning that children feel secure and loved, while boundaries help them grow and develop safely. The challenge is to get the balance right—something which, as parents, we’re all still learning to do.

Authoritarian Parenting in the Spotlight

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Strict discipline and rigid expectations are key traits of this approach—and it’s one you’ll be familiar with from movies like The Sound of Music, The Pursuit of Happyness, and many more. This style isn’t the biggest in terms of popularity among the Hollywood glitterati, but some celebs endorse the authoritarian way. They include Freddie Prinze Junior and Buffy the Vampire Slayer star Sarah Michelle Gellar, who have previously spoken about being “strict as hell” with their kids, who have “100 rules” to follow.

While Freddie Prinze Jr. and Sarah Michelle Gellar are known for their strict approach, other celebrities have also endorsed elements of authoritarian parenting. Victoria Beckham has shared that she enforces structured routines and high expectations for her children, instilling discipline from a young age. “I want them to have a strong work ethic and to be polite and respectful,” she has said in interviews.

Gisele Bündchen has also spoken about maintaining firm rules in her household, emphasizing the importance of healthy routines, including strict bedtimes and limited screen time. While authoritarian parenting can provide structure and discipline, experts warn that excessive rigidity may lead to heightened anxiety or rebellion in children.

Permissive Parenting: The Lenient Approach

Alicia Silverstone/Instagram

This is possibly one of the best-known celeb parenting styles—it’s often described as being your child’s best friend. Famous proponents include Alicia Silverstone, who has written about how this gentle parenting style can help strengthen the bond between moms and dads and their babies and promote children feeling a genuine sense of contentment and belonging. In her book, The Kind Mama, Silverstone aims to empower women to take control of their pregnancy, birth, and parenting experiences to best connect with their baby.

Singer Jordin Sparks is also a fan of permissive parenting, describing how she regularly communicates with her son about feelings, talking things through—rather than punishing—when a tantrum occurs.

Actress Kristen Bell has spoken about her open and communicative approach to parenting. She and her husband, Dax Shepard, allow their children to express emotions freely, even if that means occasional meltdowns in public.

Similarly, Drew Barrymore has described her parenting style as nurturing and relaxed, emphasizing that she wants her children to feel unconditionally loved rather than controlled. However, some psychologists caution that permissive parenting can lead to challenges in setting boundaries and teaching responsibility.

Uninvolved Parenting: When Celebrities Take a Hands-Off Approach

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Many people find this approach a little troublesome. Although when taken to an extreme it can slide into neglectful parenting, there are plenty of famous parents who endorse a more hands-off approach, maintaining nurturing support while allowing their kids a relatively high amount of independence. Known as “free-range” parenting, this adapting of the “uninvolved” style is practiced by stars including Angelina Jolie, who says she’d “rather [the kids] go to a museum and learn to play guitar and read and pick a book they love” than stick rigidly to a scheduled schoolwork timetable.

Will Smith and Jada Pinkett-Smith also practiced a more hands-off approach when their kids were young, choosing to allow them to learn from their actions and decisions. Describing their parenting style, Smith explained, back in 2013, that he and Jada wanted to give their children, from a young age, “as much control over their lives as possible.”

Unique and Unconventional Celebrity Parenting Methods

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But celebs don’t always follow the parenting style playbook. The famous moms and dads below have developed their own unique and unconventional means of “bringing up baby”:

• Ashton Kutcher and Mila Kunis decided, when their kids were very young, to introduce a “no gifts” rule for the Christmas holidays. While it may not have been popular with the children, the idea behind the approach was to prevent their little ones from growing up with a sense of entitlement—which has to be a good thing.
• Alanis Morrissette endorsed an attachment parenting style with her son, Ever, speaking on news programs and in magazines about how she would let him decide when to stop breastfeeding.
• If there’s a famous person you can always rely on to buck a trend it’s Madonna, and she’s prepared to go against the “normal” grain when it comes to parenting, too. The Queen of Pop has previously told interviewers that she allowed no televisions, newspapers, or magazines in the home and that salt, sweets, preservatives, and dairy foods were also all forbidden.
• In a 2019 interview Jennifer Garner shared that, once a year, she throws a “Yes Day” for her three children, when she agrees to any of her kids’ requests, from having ice cream for breakfast to a fun afternoon out. Brave lady!

The Role of Nannies and Support Systems in Celebrity Households

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Celebs are busy people, so it’s no surprise that many famous parents choose to employ a nanny to help lighten the load. In the households of the glitterati, nannies can fulfill many roles, from general childcare to providing friendship, company, and support. Superstar Julia Roberts hired a couple of nannies to help care for her kids while she was globetrotting as part of filming Eat Pray Love, considering these women as part of her family rather than paid employees.

Jessica Alba, too, has spoken about the importance of her nanny in keeping family life running smoothly, taking to Insta to thank “Nanny Connie” for a decade of caring for her kids.

Many famous people are lucky enough to have a supportive extended family, too, to help with childcare and provide plenty of love and support. These include Kate Hudson, whose parents Kurt Russell and Goldie Hawn relish their role as grandparents—and the Kardashian kids, who have one of the world’s famous matriarchs, Kris Jenner, on hand when needed.

For parents without access to a team of caregivers, technology can be a valuable tool in ensuring children’s safety and well-being. The Findmykids app helps parents stay connected with their children by offering real-time location tracking, safe zone alerts, and even an SOS button in case of emergencies. Whether you’re practicing authoritative, permissive, or hands-off parenting, having peace of mind about your child’s whereabouts can make all the difference.

The Influence of Celebrity Parenting on Public Trends

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Celebrities pack a powerful punch when it comes to parenting trends, bringing some new approaches to prominence and sharing their own unique ideas on how to get it “right.” Parenting practices that have gained popularity through celeb endorsement include “free-range parenting” (similar to permissive parenting), gentle parenting, and attachment parenting.

How helpful is this, though, when we’re already under so much pressure as parents to be perfect? After all, we can all recognize that it’s much easier to parent when you have a whole lot of money and a bunch of nannies and employees to help keep things running smoothly. On the other hand, sometimes a bit of alternative advice can be useful.

Famous folk are uniquely placed to influence parenting trends, and this can be a positive thing. For example, the Obamas have always advocated that having a harmonious work-life balance is key for happy, well-rounded kids, while Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt have endorsed inclusivity and the importance of allowing kids to develop through the freedom to explore.

The Wisdom (or Otherwise) of Following Celeb Parenting Trends

Being a parent is tough. It’s also the best job in the world. When celebs weigh in with their chosen parenting style—and seem to be doing so well—it’s easy to feel pressured to follow their example. However, it’s always worth remembering that you know your unique child and situation best, and your intuition regarding your parenting approach is probably correct.

However, if you’re struggling, or would like some ideas for a different parenting style, there’s absolutely nothing wrong with considering a different approach or adapting a famous parenting style to suit your own kid and circumstances.

Do you favor one of the above four main parenting approaches—and is this the same one that parents deployed? We’d love to know your thoughts—please drop us a line in the comments box below.

FAQs

Kate Hudson/Instagram

What is it like to have famous parents?

While every child with famous parents has had a different experience, many have spoken about the challenges around a lack of privacy and the public having such an intense interest in the minutiae of their family’s daily life.

What is a famous quote about parenting?

One of the most famous quotes about parenting comes from President Franklin D. Roosevelt: “We may not be able to prepare the future for our children, but we can at least prepare our children for the future.” A lesser-known quote, “Before I got married I had six theories about raising children; now, I have six children and no theories” is courtesy of John Wilmot, the second Earl of Rochester (1647-1680).

What is it called when a famous person has famous parents?

While there is no specific term for a famous person with famous parents, the phrase “nepo baby” is now often used to refer to a celebrity who has probably benefited from their well-known parents’ fame or connections.

What is the most popular parenting style?

While there are hundreds (if not an infinite amount!) of parenting styles, there are four approaches most commonly deployed, by celebs and “regular” folk. These are authoritative, authoritarian, permissive, and uninvolved parenting.

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