Kristen Bell and Dax Shepard have been together for 11 years now, so of course they get into the occasional argument. And because the couple now has two young daughters, sometimes those fights happen in front of the kids. Hey, it happens to the best of us!
But the Bell-Shepard household has a simple rule when it comes to arguing in front of the little ones, and they use arguments to teach their daughters Lincoln, 5, and Delta, 4, an important life lesson.
"One thing my husband invented — he said, 'Let's make a commitment to always make up in front of our kids,'" Kristen recently told PopSugar.
Every time Kristen and Dax fight in front of the kids, they also make sure to resolve the fight in front of them. That way, their daughters don't just learn to fight, but they also learn how to resolve conflict in a healthy way.
"I let them witness apologies a lot," Kristen explained. "Don't be scared of apologies!"
It's a simple rule that makes a big difference, according to The Good Place actress.
Kristen and Dax have been together since 2007, when they first met and began dating.
They married in October 2013, a few months after Kristen gave birth to their oldest daughter, Lincoln.
Nowadays, they're a family of four, with the addition of their younger daughter, Delta, in 2014.
Kristen and Dax are fiercely private about their daughters, keeping their faces off social media and out of the public's view. But on the flip side, the famous couple is extremely open about how they work to keep their marriage and family healthy.
Like every other couple, they sometimes get into arguments.
But when they argue in front of the kids, they have a rule to also make up in front of the kids.
"Parents can get testy with each other, and what children witness is the fight, and they never witness the resolution, so how on earth are they supposed to know how to make up with people?" Kristen explained to PopSugar.
To make sure their kids understand the full picture, Kristen and Dax sometimes have to stage things a bit.
"So, even if we have a testy afternoon or a testy evening and we make up in the bedroom later and say, 'Hey, I'm sorry; I had a long day at work,' the next morning we come out of our bedroom and, in front of our children, I'll say, 'Hey, Daddy, last night at dinner, I felt that I was rude to you, and I don't think you deserved that,'" she said.
"'I just wanted to apologize because I had a tough day at work and that made my feelings very frustrated, and I had a hard time being nice and that's my fault. So I apologize because you don't deserve that,'" Kristen continued.
By demonstrating how to make up, the two are teaching their daughters how to resolve conflict.
And how to apologize, too — something that's tricky for many adults to do properly.
"I let them witness apologies a lot," Kristen said.
"Don't be scared of apologies!"
This isn't the first time Kristen has shared her parenting expertise.
She's previously talked about other parenting challenges, like how she and Dax navigate fame with children and the parenting hack they use to get their kids to talk about their day.
Parenting is tough, but these two are totally killing it.
