20 Celebrity Parents Reveal How They Discipline Their Kids

Posted by Denette Wilford on February 5, 2019

Every parent can lose it once in a while. It pretty much comes with the territory of raising children. Because while we wish they could all be quiet, well-behaved, well-mannered humans, there are times when that's an impossible ask. Whether it's a toddler in a full-out meltdown or a teenager dishing out the kind of attitude you'd only wish on your worst enemy, the defiance is real. You need to have all kinds of patience and the commitment to discipline them — but in a way that empowers them to change their actions. And celebrities are no different. Here, 20 celebrity parents reveal how they discipline their kids.

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    Jessica Alba

    The mom of three relied on the trusty corner timeout when her daughters, Honor and Haven, were younger. "My kids are constantly snatching things out of the other one's hand. So now it's, 'Stand in the corner and put your nose against the wall!," Alba told People. "My two-year-old can last 15 seconds before she's like, 'OK, 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."

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    Michelle Obama

    It's all about the screen time in the Obama house. "We have rules about it," she explained to Yahoo! in 2011. "The girls have limited television and screen time — none during the week unless it's school-related because now kids are doing these video-chat study groups. And when they're doing that, I always go in their room to make sure they're actually talking about school." Kids. Always keeping us on our toes.

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    Nicole Polizzi

    It's hard to believe, but the adorably tanned, foul-mouthed meatball is a mom of two (soon-to-be-three), and has to deal with the kind of shenanigans she used to pull in the Jersey Shore house. When her son Lorenzo or daughter Giovanna get dramatic, Snooki opts to pretend like it's not happening.

    "I literally just walk into the kitchen, ignore them ... and then they come over and they say, 'I'm OK now,'" she told People. "I'm at the stage of parenthood right now where I just need to stop entertaining them. The more you pay attention to that kind of behaviour, the worse it gets." Want more proof? Check out her Instagram selfie co-starring her tantrum-throwing son.

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    Madonna

    Madonna revealed that when Lourdes was 13, she wasn't allowed to date. The rule was simple: "No boys for Lourdes until she's 18 years old," but added, "She's a good girl, though." The singer also acknowledged that her eldest child didn't have it easy. "Late-night TV, junk food and mess are not tolerated in my house. My daughter has a problem picking things up in her room. So if you leave your clothes on the floor, they're gone when you come home." Damn.
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    Mark Wahlberg

    For Wahlberg, it's all about give and take. "I think the most important thing is to always be involved in every aspect of their life," he told Esquire of his four children. "To give them enough trust that they can share things with you. I don't want them to be terrified of me, you know? But I don't want them to think they can do whatever they want and get away with it, either, because they can't." OK, so a little scared.

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    Cate Blanchett

    "I don't enjoy being the bad cop, but sometimes I have to be," Blanchett told Yahoo in 2011. "My husband and I worry about our generation trying to be friends with their children rather than parents of their children. If you're going to try and make your children like you, you're in dangerous waters I think."

    Ultimately, for Blanchett and Andrew Upton, communication is key. "What I do know is that you have to let them talk and you have to listen. I hope that when they're 15, they're still talking as freely to us as now."
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    Chris Pratt

    Pratt tries to balance the good with the bad, and during an appearance on Live with Kelly and Ryan, said: "I'm a softie, but I'm also strict. It's probably confusing for Jack. I'm probably the strict parent, but also pretty loving and affectionate as well. I think you've got to get respect, do what you say you're going to do, and make your kids toe the line and all that stuff. But at the same time, you give them lots of hugs and kisses."

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    Kelly Clarkson

    The singer revealed in 2018 that she's "not above" spanking her kids, explaining in a radio interview, "My parents spanked me and I did fine in life and I feel fine about it." Clarkson warns her kids (daughter River and son Remington) what they're in for. "I'm like, 'Hi, I'm gonna spank you on your bottom if you don't stop right now. Like, this is ridiculous.'"
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    Tom Brady

    Rather than be the disciplinarian, Brady leaves it to his wife, Gisele Bundchen. "It's the worst," he told Entertainment Tonight, then corrected himself. "Well, it's not the worst for me. I think it's the worst for my wife, who's trying to instil some discipline in [our daughter Vivian] and I just give her whatever she wants." Ugh, way to derail all Gisele's parenting.

    He added: "But isn't that what men are supposed to do for daughters? Yeah, there's princesses, and My Little Pony dolls, and it's just the cutest thing ever. But I'm the final 'no.' And once they hear Dad say, 'No,' they know it's a permanent no." Uh-huh. Sure they do.
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    Melissa McCarthy

    For McCarthy, as long as she and husband Ben Falcone maintain a united front, their daughters won't get the best of them. "It's a balancing act," she told People. "Kids are really smart. They pick up on everything and then you still have to not laugh in front of them as you tell them that something's not appropriate, or something might be too aggressive. Then, when they leave the room, Ben and I try to write down [what they did] so we don't forget, and then laugh a lot without them seeing. It's a system in a web of lies. That's what it is." As long as they never find out, it's all good.

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    Gwen Stefani

    Stefani's three sons have a discipline chart and she keeps them in check that way. "It's work, you know? But that's where you get the results," she told People. "I see a constant fear of 'How am I gonna make sure these kids are good people?' I feel like naturally it's so easy for them to be naughty, and you get more and more worried about it the older they get."
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    Nick Cannon

    For some kids, they just know the difference between right and wrong. And Cannon and Mariah Carey's twins, Moroccan and Monroe, KNOW.

    "My kids — it's a blessing — they're extremely disciplined," he told People. "They try [misbehaving] with other people because everyone gives them so much attention, but when it comes to [Mariah] and I, we only have to say something once. We ask them to have a seat, they sit down, cross their legs, and put their hands in their lap." Cannon admitted that he hopes it lasts. "I've got the loudest voice in the house, so they've always responded to that ever since they were newborns. They hear my voice and they freeze."

    You might also want to check out our list of celebrities who had children a little later in life.
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    Mayim Bialik

    "I grew up strict and that seemed to have worked to me," Bialik told ABC News, but acknowledged she's much more relaxed with her sons, Frederick and Miles. "I'm a fun mom. My boys think of me as fun, but I definitely have a lot of my parents' strong work ethic and emphasis on chores. When they ask for an allowance for their chores, I say, 'I don't get paid for my chores. I'm not paying you for yours.'" YAAAS.
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    Julie Bowen

    "Being your kids' best friend is not always the best parenting choice," the actress and mom of three boys told Working Mother. "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."
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    Candace Cameron Bure

    "I'm not afraid to admit it: We do spank our children," the Fuller House star wrote in a blog post for Christian Women Online. "We get much of our parenting information from the Bible — that's my heart source. There are several passages that refer to disciplining your child."
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    Solange Knowles

    Solange may be Beyoncé's younger sister, but she was a mom first and she's never hidden how she parents her son. "I really limit what he can have access to," she told Hot 97. "He just got an iPad for Christmas. That was Grandma's gift. Hell no, he doesn't have a phone. He's around a lot of sweet, nice normal kids. And also around kids who get disciplined. If he gets completely out of line, I do the three steps: 1 is the look and talk. 2 is taking away something of value to him. 3 is you need your butt popped. You don't have to do it often, like twice or three times a year. And he remembers it."

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    Chip Gaines

    It's Chip's way or the highway — at least where the children are concerned. "When I got to be a parent, I don't know what it is about it; I feel a little bit like a drill sergeant sometimes," Gaines told People. "Some elements of my personality, as a parent, I'm not real crazy about."

    The one big rule he and Joanna plan to follow for all five children: "We keep telling the kids they don't get a phone until they go off to college." Good luck to them.
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    Kate Gosselin

    Gosselin's parenting style has always been criticized, but it's probably almost impossible for most of us to imagine ourselves in the shoes of the single mother of eight. Years ago, when Kate was photographed spanking one of the sextuplets, people were up in arms. Gosselin defended her choice, telling Life & Style at the time, "Whether the paparazzi are there or not, I am a mother first. I love my children and when they misbehave, I discipline them as I deem appropriate for the situation."

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    Jennie Garth

    For Garth, it was a matter of repetition and consistency when her daughters (who are now 21, 16 and 12) were younger. "I had to give my six-year-old four timeouts two days ago," she told Cookie magazine in 2009. "She kept hitting. I don't spank, though sometimes I think, 'These timeouts aren't working! What's next?' I strive for consistency, and not making idle threats. They have to know there are consequences for violence, name-calling, and not doing household chores." Sing it, Jennie.
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    Jamie Oliver

    The TV chef's disciplinary tactics are very different than most: he makes his children eat hot chillies if they misbehave. He once tricked his daughter Poppy into eating a scotch bonnet, and while the punishment worked, his wife Jools was not pleased. "Poppy was quite disrespectful and rude to me and she pushed her luck," he recalled while appearing on BBC Good Food Show. "In my day, I would have got a bit of a telling-off but you are not allowed to do that. Five minutes later, she thought I had forgotten and I hadn't. She asked for an apple. I cut it up into several pieces and rubbed it with scotch bonnet and it worked a treat. She ran up to mum and said, 'This is peppery.' I was in the corner laughing. [Jools] said to me, 'Don't you ever do that again.'" She likely learned her lesson, though, right?

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