KRISTEN’S GOOD SENSE RING THE BELL!
The comedy star gets real about mother hood and marriage
Kristen Bell isn’t satisfied with most happilyever-afters. “I see a lot of books my daughters are given,” notes the mum of Lincoln, five, and Delta, three. “It’s all about the prince wanting to marry the princess. All he does is kiss her and she says ‘Yes!’”
So when the actress – who voiced Frozen heroine Anna – closes the book, she says, “I wonder why he didn’t get to know her? I wonder why he didn’t ask her whether she wanted to marry him? It’s a really tiny change, but I’m definitely working towards empowering them.”
We chat with the star of Netflix series TheGoodPlace about love and motherhood.
What else do you teach your girls?
They go to a preschool that prides itself on social emotional learning and when the kids get physical with each other – which they do because they’re all feral at this point – they teach them to say things like, “I don’t like it when you touch my body like that.” They say that to me. “I don’t like having my hair touched.”
ao you feel it takes a village to raise toddlers?
I’ve come to a point where I love getting advice because I don’t have to take it. I’m not signing a contract if I ask someone how they get their three-year-old to sleep at night. I just decide whether that information works for me.
ao you compare yourself to other mums on fnstagram?
I want my answer to be no, but of course it’s yes because I’m a human. But I try to stop that before it starts. Everything you’re doing seems OK until you compare.
ao you feel overwhelmed as a mother?
From the time I wake up until bedtime! I have sensory issues when people are asking me too many questions. All they do is ask questions, from the moment I open my eyes until I tuck them into bed. It’s really just being in the permanent state of a pop quiz at school.
ff you had the time, what would you do for yourself?
I’d nap more. I would also force myself to go to the gym more because as much as I hate it, it always makes me feel really, really good.
How do you and your husband aax phepard make time for romance?
Once or twice a month we have a date night. We make an effort to cuddle because you find you’re often cuddling your girls, but you haven’t put your arm around your partner in a week.
How do you split tasks?
We regroup every night. It’s stressful to figure out how to solve the problems when there’s more than one cook in the kitchen. But Dax is 50% their parent. He changed 50% of their diapers and he’s earned it.