15 of the Best Parenting Tips We’ve Gotten From Celebs

Gabrielle Union has been a vocal supporter of her stepdaughter, Zaya, who has been open about her transgender identity. In 2020, Gabrielle gave some really great advice to other parents of LGBTQ children: It's okay to admit that parents have to learn too. As she shared with Today, "You can lead with humility. You can legit say, 'Okay, I don't have all the answers, but what I do know is that I love you, and I'm going to be on this journey with you, and we're going to learn together." Yes ma'am!

Jennifer Garner always seems like the most relatable Hollywood mom, and we love what she said about the importance of letting children feel their feelings. "Our kids need to be allowed to have a bad day. And you need to show them that it's okay to have the whole range of emotions. You should have it all — rage and anger and sadness, so there is a lot of room for joy and happiness as well."

Angelina Jolie is clearly someone who loves being a mother, and while her particular parenting situation might not be similar to what most of us experience, her bottomline of what kids really need from their parents rings true. In the early days of the pandemic, she shared this gentle reminder with parents struggling with the overwhelming reality of trying to parent during unprecedented times: "It is a lovely thing to discover that your children don't want you perfect. They just want you honest. And doing your best."

John Krasinski is one of the most likable celebrity dads (we'll always have a soft spot for Jim from The Office), and we love his advice for parents to remember to be honest about how parenting is both amazing and really hard sometimes. "I'm a big fan of being open about the truth and how you really feel, and not putting on a pretty face for everybody. No one really tells you that it's hard and there are sleepless nights. Kids get sick, kids fall down and get hurt, and all these things are really intense and really emotionally difficult," he shared with Today in 2016.

"And one of the best things I ever heard from one of my friends who just had a kid was, 'It's so amazing, it's the best thing that could happen,' and I said, 'That's so great.' And he said, 'And it's really, really hard,' and I said, 'Thank you so much for being honest.' I think there's a sense of relief hearing that it's hard for other people because you're all in this fight together."

Jay-Z and Beyoncé are forever icons and can obviously give their three kids the world. But Jay-Z's tip for other parents is a lot simpler and doesn't require parents to be ultra-wealthy or famous. In an interview with The Times, he shared what he believes the fundamental goal of parenting should be. "[We just need to] make sure we provide a loving environment, be very attentive to who they want to be. It's easy for us as human beings to want our children to do certain things, but we have no idea. We're just guides."

In addition to being one of the our favorite first ladies ever, Michelle Obama always seems like she'd be a great mom friend who wouldn't be afraid to tell it like it is when it comes to the importance of being intentional about the habits we want kids to have. In a conversation with her own mother on her podcast, Michelle reminded us that parenting is about playing the long game.

"If you are looking for a child to be self-reliant when they're 21, 22, you have to make them practice that as early as 5 or 6 or 7 years old. If you don't teach a kid how to wake up on their own when they're young, yeah, you could be waking them up for the rest of their lives because you don't make them practice it."

Mindy Kaling is a single mom to a son and daughter and she's got a great tip for other single parents: Stop feeling guilty for needing and wanting help! "As a single mom, it really does take a village. Yes, I am the parent of my two children — but there are all these other caregivers in the form of family, friends, and nannies," she told Today. "I couldn't do it without the village. Absolving myself of guilt for depending on others has been the biggest piece of advice that has helped me."

Drew Barrymore is a mother of two who is, like a lot of us, balancing work life and mom life. One tip that she has for other working moms is to not frame work as the enemy. She shared her philosophy with Today in 2018. "I don't say, 'I have to go work,' with a grimace on my face because I fear it will make [my kids] feel negative about something a lot of moms must do to provide," she explained.

"My friend once said, 'Never make your child feel like work is the bad thing taking you away from them,' and I realized a lot of us tend to do that to try to make our kids feel better. I try a way to empower me and my kids into something more positive. I don't blame work, I own the responsibility."

One of the best tips for all new parents is to not fall into the trap of comparing your baby to other babies when it comes to hitting developmental milestones. Cardi B summed it up right when she said, "Every kid is different, every kid develops different, and not everybody else's child is like my child."

Make no mistake, we are major Viola Davis fans and we'd take her advice on, well, everything. But her parenting tip is especially lovely. Regarding her relationship with her daughter, she once said, "I will not be a mystery to my daughter. She will know me and I will share my stories with her — the stories of failure, shame, and accomplishment. She will know she's not alone in that wilderness."

Author and Peloton instructor Robin Arzon is a big advocate for parents — especially moms — practicing self-care and taking the time to focus on themselves. In 2021, she released the children's book Strong Mama and opened up to People about not giving in to mom guilt. "Mom guilt is real, so I am really proud that I was able to prioritize my training," she said. "I wanted to show myself, my family, and Athena that I'm still going to claim my finish lines because that's going to make me stronger for the family."

Tom Hanks has been parenting for more than 40 years now, so it isn't surprising that he has some really good tips after all that experience. "Somewhere along the line, I figured out that really the only thing a parent can do is say, 'I love you. There's nothing you can do wrong, you cannot hurt my feelings, I hope you will forgive me on occasion, and what do you need me to do?'" he told The New York Times.

Actress and podcaster Busy Philipps has a very realistic tip for parents: Know that kids can't be shielded from the harsher aspects of the world forever. She explained this in an interview in 2020: "I don't find any value in shielding my kids from everything. You have to know what's appropriate for them age-wise and a way to be able to talk to them. Lucky for us, we live in a world with plenty of resources, so you can figure out what's okay in terms of world events or just your own little world events in your home."

We can always count on Stephen Colbert to make us laugh, even when giving a tip on why winning power struggles with kids is so dang hard. As he noted, "Never underestimate kids' tenacity. Raising a child is like wrestling a small but relentless opponent." Facts!

Glennon Doyle, writer, podcaster, and all-around champion for women who aren't afraid to get real and messy, has the mic drop on what we all need to say to our kids. "Life is not safe, and so our task is not to promise our kids there will be no turbulence. It's to assure them that when the turbulence comes, we will all hold hands and get through it together," she said.

"We do not promise them a heartache-free life, but we do assure them that the slings and arrows won't kill them. In fact, they will make them kinder, wiser, more resilient. We look them right in the eye, point them to their pain, and say, 'Don't be afraid, baby. You were born to do this." BOOM.