Gwen Stefani Reveals The Unique Approach She Uses In Her Parenting Style When It Comes To Disciplining Her 3 Children
Stefani makes sure to set boundaries with her children.
Tinseltown / Shutterstock / Instagram In May 2006, Gwen Stefani and her then-husband, Gavin Rossdale, welcomed their first son, Kingston, after almost four years of marriage. Following the birth of their first son, Stefani welcomed their second, Zuma Nesta Rock, in August 2008. In February 2014, Stefani and Rossdale welcomed their third and final son, Apollo Bowie Flynn.
As a mother of three boys, Stefani shared that she had to approach parenting differently than she anticipated, especially when it came down to doling out punishments anytime her children acted up.
How Gwen Stefani created a unique approach when it came to disciplining her three sons.
During a 2017 interview with PEOPLE, Stefani revealed that, despite being a free spirit while growing up and being famous for her rebellious spirit while being the lead vocalist for No Doubt, she didn't carry that same mindset to raising her children.
“I was in a band and free my whole life, so I always thought I would be really free with [my kids] and do whatever I wanted, like, ‘Oh, I’ll take them out of school,'" she told the publication. “But you learn that when they have boundaries is when they feel the safest.”
The 'Rich Girl' singer continued, saying that the hardest part is making sure to set limits with her children. To do so, Stefani came up with a clever way to make sure she is disciplining her sons fairly.
"The hardest thing to do is having a discipline chart and follow up on all those things,” she explained. “It’s work, you know? But that’s where you get the results.”
Stefani also opened up about setting certain boundaries with her children, and not allowing them to do certain things that many of her fans expected her to be lenient about.
"I love when they still play and you’re like, ‘Oh good. They’re still doing that,'" the singer elaborated. “[But then] there will be other things like, ‘Can I get my ears pierced?’ I’m like, ‘Um, no. No, you can’t!’"
Like most parents, Stefani worries constantly about what kind of adults her children will turn into someday, and if she is leading them on the right path with how she parents them.
“I see a constant fear of ‘How am I gonna make sure these kids are good people?'" she stressed. "I feel like naturally, it’s so easy for them to be naughty, and you get more and more worried about it the older they get.”
Stefani previously opened up about feeling 'so much guilt' when spending time away from her kids.
The 'Luxurious' singer shared that she sometimes feels immense guilt when juggling her working and mom life.
During a May 2021 episode on DJ Khaled’s podcast, 'The First One,' Stefani said that while she cherishes being a mom, there are moments that are hard for her to balance.
"I think it’s really hard to do it all, and impossible to do. And every single day … I feel guilty,” she said.
“Yesterday, I was so guilty because I had a day off with the kids and then I got on a Zoom about doing a video or something, and it was going on and on for like an hour and a half, and I was like, ‘What am I doing? I’ve got to get off the Zoom, this is my day with my kids.' Like, so much guilt all the time.”
She added that it's sometimes hard to "be in the moment" with her kids. "You’re with your kids and you want to be doing your thing, and then when you’re doing your thing, you want to be with your kids. It’s hard.”
Despite Stefani expressing the reality of being a working parent, the singer promised that she was eternally "grateful" for her kids and proud to be their mom.
"I don’t know why God chose me to be surrounded by boys my whole life, but here I am just surrounded by them, and I just feel really blessed. It’s really fun.”
Nia Tipton is a writer living in Brooklyn. She covers pop culture, social justice issues, and trending topics.