It’s Mother’s Day. Here are the best things celebrity moms told us this year.
Welcome to So mini-pathsYahoo Life’s Upbringing Series about the joys and challenges of raising children.
Every mother has a story. For some, getting pregnant is a challenge at all. For others, it means advocating for yourself as a pregnant patient or facing the harsh realities of the postpartum period. It can be the joy of seeing a child’s personality blossom, the bittersweet pain of leaving the nest, or the everyday parenting challenges in between.
Many of these moms — who happen to boast their names in bold — have shared their own personal stories on Yahoo Life So mini-paths Series. In honor of Mother’s Daywe share some of the most powerful, relatable, and heartfelt conversations we’ve had this year.
About the discipline:
“[My parenting style is] strict but loving. I’m not your friend. I am not your companion. I am your mother. I am here to make the laws of our house. Listen to me, don’t just look at me. Understand what I want to tell you.” — Sheryl Lee Ralph
“I find [she and husband Chris Pratt] Play different roles with each other, like the good/bad cop thing. We take turns doing this, which I think is important, because then one parent isn’t assigned the task of having to do everything disciplinary. In any case, we communicate very openly and honestly about what is important to us, what our values are and how we want to raise our children.” — Katherine Schwarzenegger Pratt
For juggling work and parenting:
“I’m really good at prioritizing and very efficient. I’m not on Instagram for hours a day. Who has time to be on Instagram for hours a day? When I’m stuck in traffic I do all my calls in the car because when I get home I want to be with Santi. I don’t want to be on the phone. I don’t want to sit at the computer. People are always amazed at how much I can get done in a day. Time is my greatest wealth. I’m either wasting my time, I’m wasting my time, or I’m investing my time, so I’m trying to invest my time.” — Eva Longoria
“I walked in with this little baby in my arms and put him in his crib and had my hair done and my makeup done and read my script. … Turns out it was.” [network executives] I just took a risk. But what they got was a person sitting in that chair on that show that America could really relate to because they knew I was getting up in the middle of the night, breastfeeding, changing diapers, and, you know, going home went and figured out how to peel carrots while holding a baby. And I did everything they did – and that almost broke down… the third wall.” — Joan Lunden
On the subject of maternity:
“I always assumed that once I became a mother, I would become a different person, this new version of myself that will be better and more organized. I thought I would expand and become an improved version of myself. This is humbling, but the reality is: Oh no, you are just yourself. And there’s no point in trying to tweak or improve your life or pretend you’re a whole new person once you’re a mother. … Your children will see through this!” — Greta Lee
“You have to rely on a lot of people caring for the mother. The phrase ‘It takes a village’ is true, but we don’t live in villages anymore. You build your village with other ‘mothers’… As children.” Teenagers need other secure adults they can rely on.” — Busy Phillips
If you do it alone:
“Ask for help [and] Have some great people by your side who can pat you on the back as many times as you need because that’s the other thing you don’t have: Nobody sees you at home, the struggles, the balance it takes . You often go to bed at night just wishing someone was there to pat you on the back, and that’s hard. So have someone there, a girlfriend, a best friend, whoever, to remind you of that every now and then. It is really important.” – Amanda Kloots
“[As a former single mom] I have to say that the most difficult thing for me is raising them together. I am not joking. I often use “I” instead of “we” in emails. I get a little annoyed when I have to ask anyone else because for ten years, which is a long time, I made every decision for them. In a partnership, however, I cannot ignore Dulé. And that’s why I have to remind myself that it’s not his fault that I was a single parent and that his opinion adds value to our children’s lives. Now I feel like I did a really great job at Kennedy – I think: I did a great job… I’m Wonder Woman — and so my first instinct to do that with Levi is to roll on steam, so to speak, and do all the things that worked with Kennedy. But that just doesn’t work because we’re a two-parent house now, you know?” — Jazmyn Simon
“I tell that to single moms all the time. I don’t care what your budget is, you have to set your own budget. Find time for yourself.” — page turner
To learn self-esteem:
“If I listen to my intuition, I will know how best to raise her, and she will also teach me what she wants. I’ve looked on every website, book and social media how to do it.” I’m parenting my child and what is best, what are the signs and how has it turned out? And finally I got to the point where I took a step back and said: You know what? I’ll just listen to my kid and find out. And it was the greatest burden that was lifted from me; The pressure was taken off me.” — Ashley Greene
“You become like your own big sister. I know better than anyone what I went through to bring this child into the world, and the last thing I deserve is to fret over every decision I make along the way.” — Elaine Welteroth
“Whenever I talk negatively about myself, my husband is there and says: ‘You shape life, that’s the miracle.’ And I was like, ‘Oh, yes, yes, yes, yes. I forgot.’ I’m really putting myself in perspective. I have friends who are undergoing IVF who are unable to conceive and I think so [to myself], “Thank you, body.” That’s what we say, “Thank you, body, for doing something so beautiful and making my dreams come true” — because not everyone has the opportunity to do that. So I’ll take all my scars and all my insecurities.” — Meghan Trainor
Wellness, parenting, body image and more: get to know it WHO Behind Whoa with the Yahoo Life newsletter. Login here.
