Some grandparents are worth their weight in gold. Others … leave something to be desired, whether it's not offering to help with the kids at all or sticking their nose in where it doesn't belong. Amanda Seyfried counts her mother, Ann, as a solid gold grandparent, though — five stars. She doesn't even refer to her as a grandparent, in fact. Instead, she actually calls her mom her daughter's "third parent."
The actress says she feels incredibly lucky to have a mother who is so involved in helping to raise her young daughter, Nina, and that she's the family's live-in nanny. Amanda has been a mom for three years now. Recently, she chatted with John Molner on an episode of the YouTube series Molner's Table. They got to talking about grandparents, and Amanda opened up about how much her mom helps out. She definitely didn't hold back when revealing how grateful she was, either.
It was pretty refreshing to hear! While so many people have a tough time getting along with their own parents once they become parents themselves, hearing about a family this close is just beautiful.
Amanda is an incredibly talented and famous actress. She and her husband, Thomas Sadoski, could definitely afford any nanny of their choosing. So it's totally that much sweeter that the nanny they chose is Amanda's very own mom.
"My mom lives with us — she's our nanny," the 34-year-old actress said. "My life is awesome because she is the third parent for us. I am so lucky — I know I am." It's especially interesting because so many celebrity parents just don't stay that close to their parents, at least not live-in close. It's a bit old-fashioned, really, but that makes it even more endearing.
The close bond Amanda has with her mom definitely shows that she's still incredibly down to earth and has stayed close to her roots. However, it's gotta be nice to have the extra help.
"So when my daughter gets up, she either comes in our room or she goes downstairs," she says. "And if we're still sleeping it's great, 'cause she can hang out with my mom. She wakes up early."
Of course, there are perks to having a grandparent live with you. But that doesn't mean everyone wants to do it! Many people have a tough time being around their children's grandparents for an afternoon. Living together would be not just tough but downright impossible for many families to accomplish.
Amanda, however, has been pretty vocal in the past about how close she and her mom are. She frequently gives her mother shout-outs on Instagram. It seems like all of the women in her family have special bonds — not just her and her mother.
This past Mother's Day, she shared a picture of three generations of women — Amanda, her mother, and her grandmother. "These sweet moms raised me," she wrote alongside the image.
It says a lot about the way Amanda was brought up with women as a central force behind her. Watching her mother remain close to her grandmother probably instilled in Amanda how important family is. She seems to have carried that lesson with her. Now history will repeat, as her mother is incredibly present in young Nina's life.
Of course, we don't know Amanda personally, but it's hard to imagine she's not a very sincere, sweet person. She and her whole family, grandma included, live in a renovated farmhouse in upstate New York. They have all kinds of animals on the property. Amanda's followers know because she's constantly sharing photos of her farm-babies (especially her horses) on Instagram.
A lot of people are having a tough time with family right now, to say the least. For those who have been stuck at home with the same people for months, there are absolutely struggles to be had. But Amanda isn't complaining. She actually says that her marriage is stronger now. Chances are, getting a break once in a while with a helpful grandmother in the mix is a huge help.
A lot of people don't have any help at all with their children. These days, parents are pretty much all pulling double-duty while trying to balance work with the kids at home. What's refreshing about Amanda is that she's so open about how lucky she is. Last year, she told People that she's lucky that her daughter has "three parents." Not only is it a very revealing statement about how much her mom does, it's also a pretty big compliment to Ann that her daughter calls her that.
Amanda is definitely loving her family dynamic. She's been asked before about whether or not she wants to expand her family, and she's said that she'd love Nina to be in school first so she can have special time with the new baby. When the time comes, having that "third parent" around will certainly make the transition easier.
