When Drew Barrymore was six years old, she starred in one of the most successful movies of all time, E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial. In the years that followed that movie’s release, Barrymore became a huge star and many people assumed she had it made. In reality, however, Barrymore’s childhood and teen years were difficult for several reasons including her complicated relationship with her mom.
Fortunately for Drew Barrymore, she has now become a mother of two herself and she clearly adores her kids. Of course, just like every other parent in history, Barrymore struggles as a parent at times and she is willing to talk about how hard having kids can be. On top of talking about the difficulties of parenting, Barrymore also has revealed the rules she has for her kids and they are very refreshing.
Drew Barrymore Understands Her Role In Her Daughters’ Lives
As anyone who has a child in their life will almost certainly already know, there is very little in life that is greater than seeing a look of poor joy on a kid’s face. As a result, a lot of adults find it hard to not spoil kids at times. After all, when an adult is out and sees a toy or candy they know a child they love would be excited to have, there is always going to be a part of them who wants to get it every time.
On top of spoiling kids by buying them stuff, it can also be really tempting for adults to want to make kids like them at all times. In reality, adults are there to make sure kids do the things that need to be done which often means stopping children from doing what they want.
Fortunately for Drew Barrymore, when she made an appearance on the podcast 4D With Demi Lovato, she made it clear she understands what her role in her daughters’ lives is supposed to be. "Like, I'm your parent, I'm not your friend. You can be friendly and do activities, it's not that it has to be this strict relationship."
Drew Barrymore’s Parenting Rules
At times, Drew Barrymore has been open about how challenging it can be to co-parent with her ex-husband Will Kopelman. Of course, a lot of divorced parents can relate to that since it is very difficult to have to share custody since you have to be away from your kids so often. On top of that, when divorced parents disagree about how to raise their children, that is extremely difficult to reconcile.
When it comes to Drew Barrymore and her ex-husband, there is no way to know how much they agree or disagree about how to raise their daughters. However, one thing is very clear, Barrymore has a lot of rules for raising her kids. When most parents learn what Barrymore’s rules for her kids are, they are bound to respect the famous actor even more.
Some of Drew Barrymore’s parenting rules may not be universally applicable to other people with kids. Most notably, Barrymore has spoken about wanting to keep her kids away from a career in the entertainment industry. For most parents, that isn’t something they need to worry about, let alone have a rule for.
When Drew Barrymore was a child, her mother embarrassed her by releasing a sensual-themed book. Now that Drew is a mother, she has learned a great deal from that experience. As a result, Barrymore has spoken about being careful about what she says and does in public to make sure she never similarly embarrasses her kids.
In the past, Barrymore has spoken about how she encouraged her daughters to nap. Depending on how a child sleeps at night, their age, and other ways in which they are different, encouraging naps may not be the right thing for every kid.
Drew Barrymore also has revealed that she has her kids keep a routine. Some parents will see that their children thrive under a routine as knowing what to expect provides them with stability and freedom to express themselves.
On the other hand, other children may rebel against being forced into a routine.
Many of Drew Barrymore’s rules for her kids seem like they would be a great idea for just about every parent to enact. One such rule is that Barrymore has made sure to teach her daughters the value of hard work by giving them chores to complete and showing them how hard she works.
Even as she sets an example of working hard, Barrymore also provides her daughters with an easy-to-understand work schedule so they aren’t left guessing when they will be with her next.
Unsurprisingly, a lot of other parents will be able to relate to some of Drew Barrymore’s parenting rules. The reason for that is Barrymore is far from the only parent to prioritize eating as a family, encouraging their kids to be honest, and setting up well-defined boundaries. Drew also has a rule that her kids can’t play with makeup until they turn ten years old that other parents can relate to.
Drew Barrymore has talked about several other rules including teaching her kids to love themselves, following tradition, and making sure her kids feel safe. Despite all of Barrymore’s parenting rules, there is one thing she knows above everything else, she doesn’t have all of the answers for what to do as a parent.
