Scarlett Johansson Describes Motherhood as an ‘Emotionally Abusive Relationship’

Raising toddlers isn't for the faint of heart, according to Scarlett Johansson. The Black Widow star is on her second round of toddler parenting and, according to her, it doesn't really get easier the more you do it. In fact, she has some honest and funny thoughts about just how hard raising a 3-year-old can be.

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In a recent podcast appearance, Scarlett reminisced about raising her first child

The mother of two opened up about motherhood while speaking with Lauryn and Michael Bosstick of The Skinny Confidential Him & Her. "It's really tough," she said of parenting her now 8-year-old daughter, Rose, through her threenager stage.

The actress thought she had an exceptionally easy kid until she turned 3

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Scarlett joked that when Rose was 2, she found herself wondering what everyone had been talking about all those years. "And then she turned 3 and it's like being in an emotionally abusive relationship," she quipped.

"It's crazy, very intense emotional swings and so bossy and adamant. And also these huge mood swings, constant mood swings. You're up and down constantly."

Of course, Scarlett couldn't say enough good things about the baby stage

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If age 3 is emotional warfare, then the early baby stage is a walk in the park, according to the Marvel star.

"Having a baby is so lovely," she continued. "They're so cute. They sit there and they love you and then that's it. And you just get love from them."

Veteran parents everywhere likely know exactly what Scarlett is talking about!

Scarlett joked about getting 'a lot of grief' from kids in the toddler stage

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She continued to riff about raising toddlers, explaining how kids really start developing their own opinions when they hit a certain age. "Everything you do is wrong," she laughed.

There's a reason all these early ages have such descriptive nicknames — like the terrible twos, threenagers, and fournados — but at least things do start to get better as the years go on.

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Hopefully Scarlett is better prepared this time around

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She will soon experience those tricky toddler years for a second time — she and Saturday Night Live comedian Colin Jost have a 20-month-old son named Cosmo — so hopefully she's now in a better, more experienced position to navigate those challenging years. If nothing else, at least she and Colin will be able to have a good sense of humor about the trials and tribulations of raising toddlers.