Photo: Denis Makarenko | s_bukley | Ovidiu Hrubaru | DFree | Shutterstock
Being a celebrity kid isn't all about glamor.
By Sanika Nalgirkar — Written on May 12, 2022
Parenting is hard enough for ordinary people, however, more so for a celebrity. Being a celebrity means constantly being in the public eye which isn't the best for celebrity parents.
Celebrity parents have to handle the fame and the hardships of parenting at the same time. While they might struggle with it, celebrities still try to do their best to raise their kids.
Many celebrities have rules for their kids to maintain discipline as well as teach them to behave appropriately in public.
While some celebrities have decent rules, others have some strange rules that may seem weird to ordinary folks.
Here are some of the strangest rules celebrity parents make their kids follow.
1. Kristen Bell & Dax Shephard lock their kids in their bedrooms at night.
Photo: DFree/Shutterstock
Bell and Shephard are known for the strange rules they make their kids follow. One of the strangest rules they have is locking their daughter in her bedroom at night.
According to Parents, Bell revealed back in 2018, at the premiere of her documentary, PANDAS, that she used to lock her 3-year-old daughter, Delta in her room when she went to bed.
"My 3-year-old [Delta] decided to stop sleeping about nine months ago. And every night, when we put her to bed, she turns the lights on, which annoys the 4-year-old [Lincoln],” she said.
“And she will move furniture, and she bangs on the door with different, hard toys. We switched the [doorknob]. We turned the lock on the outside."
She further acknowledged that she thinks it’s controversial, however, it worked for her daughter as she slept well.
However, Bell and Shephard revealed on the Armchair Expert Podcast that both the kids sleep in their bedroom with them now. Bell said, "You know the girls sleep on the floor of our bedroom."
2. Kourtney Kardashian doesn't allow microwaves in her kitchen.
Kardashian is known for living a healthy lifestyle and she enforces the same on her kids. While many of her rules imply a healthy lifestyle, some may seem a bit strange.
According to People, Kardashian wrote in a blog post on her website that she doesn’t use a microwave.
Instead, she uses a toaster oven or a stove when she needs to heat food.
She further wrote that she believes using a microwave can be harmful to the kids. As a result, she has gotten rid of her microwave in her household.
“When I had Mason, I did a lot of health-related research and decided to get rid of my microwave when I read that toxins from plastic containers can be transferred to food when reheated (this applies to BPA-free plastic containers too),” she wrote.
Khloe Kardashian also posted a story on her social media where she mentioned that Kourtney doesn't believe in using a microwave.
3. Blake Lively & Ryan Reynolds don’t use male pronouns around their kids.
Photo: DFree/Shutterstock
This rule may seem strange, however, there's more to it. In an interview with Glamour, Lively explained why the couple avoids using male pronouns around their kids.
“My husband was like, ‘Why do I always say he?’ And I said, ‘That’s what we’re taught.’ So he’ll pick up, like a caterpillar, and instead of saying, ‘What’s his name?’ he’ll say, ‘What’s her name?’,” she said.
She further mentioned that the couple has also banned the word, ‘bossy’ in their household.
She said, “But my husband said, ‘I don’t ever want to use that word again. You’ve never heard a man called bossy.’”
It seems the couple wants to raise their kids in a gender-neutral environment.
According to Real Simple, even Lively was named after her grandmother’s brother. The couple also gave the name, ‘James’ to one of their daughters hoping to teach them about gender equality.
Lively revealed to People, “Right now, my daughter thinks there’s no difference between her and a boy. She can do anything he can do. She has every opportunity that he has. She doesn’t learn anything different.”
4. Kylie Jenner & Travis Scott ask guests to wear surgical masks when they visit.
It seems Jenner was quite cautious about her kid, Stormi. While everyone has been cautious during the COVID-19 pandemic, this rule can be understandable. However, Jenner enforced this rule in 2018, well before the pandemic happened.
A source close to Jenner revealed to Hollywood Life, “Kylie got boxes of medical masks for people to wear around Stormi because she doesn’t want her exposed to any germs, she’s still so brand new.”
It seems Jenner wanted to keep Stormi safe from any harmful germs. In addition, she also made sure that Stormi’s room was stocked with things that are 100% eco-friendly, according to TMZ.
Items like Stormi’s table or bed were organic and the paint on any items was chemical-free. Anything that Stormi came in contact with was also said to be eco-friendly.
5. Will Smith & Jada Pinkett-Smith let their kids choose their own punishment.
Photo: Lev Radin/Shutterstock
When kids do something wrong, parents normally take some action to let their kids realize what they did. However, the Smiths didn’t punish their kids at all.
According to E-News, Will revealed in an interview with Metro that Jada and he didn’t punish the kids. Instead, they let the kids choose their punishment. Will mentioned that he wanted his kids, Jaden and Willow to be responsible for their actions.
He said, "The way that we deal with our kids is, they are responsible for their lives. Our concept is, as young as possible, give them as much control over their lives as possible.”
Jaden also mentioned that this parenting rule worked for him and helped him make responsible decisions.
"Other teenagers go to parties and sometimes I [am] like, 'Why am I here right now?' And most of the time, I just leave right then and there,” he said.
“Some things I don't like to do, that other teenagers do. Everyone thinks that since you make movies, you go to parties, and I like to party, but not normal teenage parties."
According to Daily Mail, Will revealed that the couple has followed this rule since Jaden was a kid.
He said, "We generally don't believe in punishment. From the time Jaden was five or six we would sit him down, and all he has to do is be able to explain why what he did was the right thing for his life.”
6. Cardi B & Offset won’t allow their daughter to go to sleepovers.
Letting your kids go to sleepovers at their friend's place might seem like a good thing for the kids but Cardi B doesn’t think so.
In an interview with W magazine, Cardi B revealed that she is going to be the strict mother to her daughter, Kulture.
She mentioned that when she was a kid, her mother didn’t allow her to go to sleepovers at her friends’ places. Cardi B mentioned that at the time, she didn’t listen to her mother and would often go without her mom knowing.
She said, “But I still did it. I joined a gang. If she had let me out as often as I wanted to, I probably would be dead or got my face cut up. Or been a teenage mom.”
As an adult, she understands why her mother did that then and plans to do the same with Kulture.
She also said, “I’m going to be very strict. Like, you can have whatever you want, but you can’t do whatever you want.”
As she mentioned, she goes above and beyond for getting the things her kids want. According to People, Cardi B bought a Rolls-Royce toy car for Kulture which starts at $3,000.
While Cardi B lets her kids have what they want, she restricts them from doing what they want to do.
Sanika Nalgirkar is a writer who covers entertainment & news, lifestyle, and pop culture topics.