There’s no right way to parent.
For instance, while some believe you should calm a screaming baby, others believe that stunts development.
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With conformity nowhere in sight, many have made their own parenting rules. While some of these make sense, others are a little, well, controversial.
Here are 10+ celebs who don’t abide by traditional parenting rules.
Kourtney Kardashian co-sleeps with her children.
This was shown a lot on Keeping Up with the Kardashians — much to Scott Disick’s dismay.
Kourtney defended her decision on her website, Poosh , writing that shared sleep has helped everyone sleep better.
Alicia Silverstone doesn’t use diapers.
In her book, The Kind Mama: A Simple Guide to Supercharged Fertility, a Radiant Pregnancy, a Sweeter Birth, and a Healthier, More Beautiful Beginning , she claimed that using diapers is “fuelled by corporate-backed pseudoscience.”
She wrote that children are “much more content leaving their business in the grass than having to sleep and eat accompanied by their own pee and poo.”
She also stated that she doesn’t believe in vaccines, calling them shots of “aluminum and formaldehyde.”
Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith don’t believe in punishing their children.
This couple has always had an unorthodox approach to parenting. Since they view their children as equal, they want their kids to feel responsible for their own lives.
“Our concept is, as young as possible, 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,” Will shared to *Metro*.
He explained that if his kids want to do something, they have to be able to explain why that was the right thing for their lives.
Angelina Jolie wants her children to reject formal education.
She believes that the best learning is done outside of the classroom. “I’d rather them go to a museum and learn to play guitar and read and pick a book they love,” she told the Daily Mail .
Alanis Morissette is “unschooling” her children.
This is when a parent homeschools their children and allows them to decide what they want to learn that day.
“I basically get inside their eyeballs. I’m constantly watching their eyes and what they’re pulled toward, and then we do the deep dive,” she told Health .
Bethenny Frankel follows a vegetarian diet with her 10-year-old daughter.
“Bryn wants to be a vegetarian because she loves animals, so she’s asking me to do it with her,” the Real Housewives of New York City alum shared on her Instagram stories back in August.
Kristen Bell and Dax Shepard lock their kids in their room at night.
They have a reason for this controversial parenting tactic.
Kristen explained to Parents that their then-three-year-old stopped sleeping and started causing chaos in the middle of the night. To solve this, they switched the doorknob and turned the lock on the outside.
Madonna throws out clothes that are left on the floor.
She’s one strict disciplinarian.
She told Newsweek that she enforced this rule when her kids were younger. “We take all of her clothes and put them in a bag, and she has to earn all of her clothes back by being tidy.”
Farrah Abraham pushes her daughter to be famous.
Like mother, like daughter, we guess.
The Teen Mom alum believes that her daughter can be famous even while she’s young. This is why Sophia has her own social media account and you’ll often see her promoting brands to make money.
Kanye West banned his daughters from wearing makeup.
While ex, Kim Kardashian, had a more lax approach to this, that changed once the rapper put his foot down.
This stems from him “feeling differently” now that he’s a Christian.
He also got strict on what his girls wear.
The rapper explained the reason for banning crop tops during an interview with Zane Lowe for Beats 1.
“I don’t think North should wear crop tops just because I had her wearing a slip dress when she was two years-old,” Kanye said.
Gisele Bündchen and Tom Brady don’t use diapers for their kids.
Instead, they would have their baby naked all day and then Gisele would hold them over the toilet when it was time to go.
While controversial, this method helped them potty train their son Benjamin in just five months.
Pamela Anderson gave her kids no rules.
While a lot of parents disagree with this, we’re sure her kids didn’t mind.
“We want them to… drink and experiment with drugs in moderation, find true love,” she wrote in a blog post on her website.
Mayim Bialik breastfed her son until he was four.
The actress has always been outspoken about breastfeeding her kids for as long as possible.
She views it as a super mother-infant bonding moment, which is aligned with the attachment style of parenting that she follows (and wrote a book on!).
Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds use female-centered pronouns around their kids.
This means that if she or Ryan don’t know the sex of something, they say “her” instead of “his.” This is their way of raising three strong girls.
They also avoid certain words to describe their daughters, including “bossy.”
“We’ve joked that my daughter is bossy. But my husband said, “I don’t ever want to use that word again. You’ve never heard a man called bossy.”‘
Beyoncé makes sure that Blue Ivy is escorted by security, wherever she goes.
Parents at Blue Ivy’s preschool have even begun complaining about the giant entourage. Supposedly, the motorcade prevents other parents from being able to pick up/drop of their children.
Gwyneth Paltrow makes her children diet the same way that she does.
Gwyneth firmly believes that a gluten-free diet is the healthiest option. She enforces this strict regimen at mealtimes, with all the members of her household. The actress/businesswoman has a zero-tolerance policy when it comes to carbs.
Alanis believes that skin-contact is essential.
When Alanis Morissette gave birth to her baby, Ever, there was absolutely nothing that the legendary alt/rock artist wouldn’t do for her child.
According to Alanis, her philosophy was to give her child as much skin-on-skin contact as possible.
Celine Dion was raising her children gender-neutral.
The iconic Canadian pop star said that she never wanted to force gender on her children. She also admitted that her youngest son looks better in high heels than she does.
Leah Remini used to treat her daughter like an adult.
For most of her life, Leah was a member of the Church of Scientology . According to scripture, children and adults are one and the same, as far as the church is concerned.
Kelly Preston had a silent birth.
Silent births are common in the Church of Scientology. The idea is that the child is brought into the world as peacefully and as calmly as possible.
This means that screaming, let alone talking, is strictly prohibited during labor.
Nikki Reed shut off all communication with the outside world.
For an entire month after the birth of their child, Nikki, and her husband Ian Somerhalder, went completely off the grid .
They abstained from all social media and wouldn’t even allow friends or family to come and visit.
Jennifer Lopez has her limits when it comes to screen time.
J-Lo told parents.com that “We’re spending too much time in front of screens and playing video games. And the truth is that active kids are strong kids.”
This is what motivated Jennifer and her family to create the Yoplaitime Challenge .
Katie Holmes let Suri choose her own outfits as a toddler.
Not only that but Katie also allowed Suri to work as her own mini-stylist. According to an interview Katie gave back in 2011 with Marie Claire — Suri has always had a great eye for fashion.
Snooki practiced her parenting skills on a doll.
Shortly after Snooki found out the news that she was pregnant, she began pushing a doll around town in a stroller .
This may sound strange, but they say that practice makes perfect, right?
Penelope Cruz advocated for the RIE method of parenting.
The RIE method was invented in Hungary in the late ’70s by Magda Gerber . in this parenting approach, infants are treated just like adults.
This means no child-proof items may be kept inside the house and parents must always talk to their children as if they were adults.
Barack Obama made his daughter learn how to speak Mandarin.
Being the daughter of the President of the United States certainly has its advantages. One of which is being able to practice your Mandarin with the President of China himself!
Mayim Bialik doesn’t force manners on her children.
In an article for Today Moms, Mayim wrote “Barring outstanding medical concerns, I believe in letting children progress in their own way and pace, modeling behavior while respecting the innate development of a child as an autonomous and purposeful creature.”
Mila Kunis and Ashton Kutcher don’t give their kids Christmas presents.
Before you call them The Grinch, hear them out. “The kid no longer appreciates the one gift,” Mila shared with Entertainment Tonight , adding that they don’t want spoiled children.
Kim Kardashian dresses her kids in her own clothing line.
I suppose that’s one way to get free publicity , but don’t you think that Kim’s kids would be more comfortable in Osh Kosh or Baby GAP?
I’m not judging, I’m just saying…
Lisa Whelchel uses hot sauce in an archaic fashion.
Lisa is best known for playing Blair on the popular 1980s sitcom The Facts of Life . She told ABC News that she’s a fan of using hot sauce as a punishment for bad behavior.
Whenever her kids would act up, Lisa would reach for the bottle of hot sauce and squirt a couple dabs on their tongues.
Am I the only person who finds this to be a bit extreme? What’s next, washing out kids’ mouths with soap?
What unconventional parenting techniques have worked for you? Leave a comment and let us know!
