Kristen Bell and Dax Shepard have both been very honest when it comes to relationships. The two of them have admitted that theirs requires a lot of work — and that sometimes fights happen. Their daughters are now following in their footsteps. Even though they have an incredible childhood, there are still some rough moments. And those might be amplified a bit with the stay-at-home orders.
Sure, they may have a bigger house and more ways to keep busy. But having two children in the house 24/7 for over a month will get to any parent. Even if the kids have schoolwork, it's not enough to keep them busy.
Speaking of schoolwork, Kristen Bell's daughter Lincoln, who's 7, made note that Kristen may not be the easiest mom to have. She detailed why in a class assignment. It was called an "opinion essay," and Lincoln made hers all about her mother. It was titled "How My Mommy Reacts to Me."
While Kristen was proud enough to share it, it doesn't paint her in the best light.
The good news is that Kristen thought it was clever. Thus she shared it with her 14 million followers on Instagram. "Touche my young lass. Touche," she said in the caption, noting that the bottom of the graph says "Stern Voice." Fans of Kristen may not believe it, but Lincoln truly knows her better.
These types of criticisms happen all the time. Sometimes, our children are picking up on our bad moods. Other times, they don't realize that parents do what they do to keep them safe. The way children interpret our actions is intriguing. For one, surely Kristen believes that Lincoln can do anything she sets her mind to. But Lincoln disagrees.
Kristen and Dax have actually pulled the ultimate move to protect their kids. Back in 2014, they campaigned several large news outlets to stop showing paparazzi photos of celebrities' children. The kids didn't sign up to be famous, so it's just not fair for them to have the same invasion of privacy.
But she still needs to remind paparazzi to lay off her kids. On one occasion, Kristen saw paparazzi outside her children's school, ready to take photos. She handled it by calmly talking to the photographer and asking him to delete the photos out of respect for their privacy. "If I had gone up to that car and yelled at him, I guarantee you he would not have deleted those pictures," Kristen said, per Today.
You might not think about how tough it is for celebrity parents. Sure, getting their picture taken is part of the gig. However, just think about how often kids have tantrums or accidents, or they simply need a snack to get out of a grumpy mood. It would be awful if these private moments were sold and published.
While Kristen tries to provide her girls with a more private life, she still likes to share stories about them. One of the most memorable was when her youngest daughter, Delta, tried shampooing her hair with Vaseline. It took many baths and many products in Kristen's attempts to wash it out. However, the best solution was time.
When the incident happened, Kristen actually reached out to her fans for solutions. Which is funny, since she's the one who's usually dishing out parenting advice. Some of it may be a little controversial, but that's the thing with parenting — sometimes odd solutions just happen to work. This tidbit of advice was also about Delta, back when she was only 3.
"My 3-year-old [Delta] decided to stop sleeping about nine months ago," Kristen told Parents. "And every night, when we put her to bed, she turns the lights on, which annoys the 4-year-old [Lincoln], and she will move furniture, and she bangs on the door with different, hard toys. We switched the door knob. We turned the lock on the outside."
But it's not as mean-spirited as you think. "I'm sorry, I know that's controversial, but we lock it when she gets in there, and we stand outside and say, 'We love you, we will talk to you in the morning, but now, it's time for sleep.' And after about 10 minutes, she'll wind herself down. And then, before we go to bed, obviously, we unlock it," she explained.
Kristen has also admitted in the past that often they do what they can to get by. "We don't limit ourselves as much as we should at home," she explained to E! News. "The way we explain it is, 'Look, you’re 5 years old. You can't drive my car. You can't vote. You can't drink alcohol. You can't swear.' So far, they’ve obliged."
It's tough for Kristen and Dax, as they often get recognized for being a power couple or being incredible parents — but it feels like they, themselves, try to squash those headlines. They've been real about all of the work they've put into maintaining the family. It's possible that Kristen shared Lincoln's harsh review as a way to feel more balanced.
But even so, Kristen Bell often gets the title of "America's Favorite Mom." Fatherly posted an entire essay highlighting reasons why she "won" at parenting. One of those reasons is that she's admitted before that she loves reading to her daughters and makes sure to choose books with good messages.
While Lincoln may regret her essay in later years, it serves its importance. For one, she's finding a way to vent her frustration over her situation right now. Perhaps Kristen has been harder than usual based on stress. Or maybe she's just a strict mom behind the scenes. Either one makes sense right now.
No matter what, not many actresses would be able to share such a harsh critique. At least Kristen seems to have a good sense of humor about it. And maybe she'll take Lincoln's feelings to heart. Right now is a wonderful time to practice patience.
