Celebrities have a reputation for outsourcing a lot of their parenting, with live-in nannies, tutors and even night nurses often doing a lot of heavy lifting in the early years, but not all famous parents fit the mold.
Despite having the means to throw some serious money at the less glamorous parts of raising young kids, however, a lot of A-listers are taking the gentle parenting approach. The trend is big on social media too, with many TikTok and Instagram influencers embracing the “crunchy” parenting lifestyle.
Mom of four Kourtney Kardashian is one big star who’s been outspoken about her very nurturing parenting style, most recently revealing that she has co-slept with all of her kids: Mason, 14, Penelope, 12, Reign, 9, and baby Rocky, who was born in November 2023.
Kardashian, 45, patiently waited until her kids decided they were ready to leave the family bed — which, in the case of Penelope, was at the age of 11. “As a mother, I like to do what feels natural and instinctual to me,” she said on the “Skinny Confidential” podcast earlier this month. “Of course, I also read all the benefits and hear all the benefits. And I mean, it’s something that mammals have been doing since time existed.”
Being married to a rock star can obviously mean the bed in question isn’t always the same place, but she and Travis Barker just go with the flow whenever Blink-182 are on the road. “I’m on the craziest hours right now because of our whole summer of touring,” she said. “But I think one thing too is that we sleep with our baby. I will say that both parents being aligned on that is really important. My husband loves it too.”
The reality TV personality previously spoke on an episode of The Kardashians about her preferred parenting style. “In many different cultures, women don’t leave the house after having a baby for 40 days, to let your body have that time to heal and beyond that,” she said in June of this year. “I’m really into attachment parenting. I really don’t separate from him. I love being at home right now, like, my time is dedicated to taking care of my baby and bonding with him.”
The “attachment” in question maintains a strong level of physical closeness between parents and children for as long as possible, via co-sleeping, baby-wearing, bathing together and breast-feeding on demand. It often goes hand in hand with gentle parenting, where emotional responsiveness is key and the sleep training and strict discipline techniques that were popular in the ‘90s and ‘00s are a big no-no.
Anyone who’s dabbled with attachment parenting themselves will know that it’s not always a hit with the older generation, who were often on a mission to get their kids sleeping independently as quickly as possible — and true to form, Kardashian admitted that Kris Jenner is not a fan of her more back-to-nature ways.
“She doesn’t have to worry about it, because it’s not her baby and she’s done having kids!” she said on the podcast.
Her sister Khloé Kardashian, who shares two children with ex Tristan Thompson, seems to be more like her mom. “I am really strict,” Khloé, 40, said. “I have a schedule. I’m very militant with how I parent and I believe that a schedule saves everything.”
There’s another unlikely star in the crunchy — krunchy? — camp with Kourtney: Ryan Reynolds. He revealed at the HubSpot conference in Boston this month that his four kids with Blake Lively were “born on Easy Street” because they have no “scarcity mindset” and he never shouts at them.
“Parents today are so different,” he said. “We’re so soft. I don’t yell. I grew up with, like — it was nuts, it was an improvised militia. Now it’s like, I can go look at all my resources for parenting and remind myself how to be perfectly compassionate.”
Reynolds, 47, previously revealed on Amanda Hirsch’s “Not Skinny But Not Fat” podcast that he and Lively co-sleep with their kids. “They can’t even go to sleep unless they’re in our bed,” he said, admitting that, even though he would “love to spread out and fall asleep normally again,” he wouldn’t want it any other way. “Think about what you would give in 40 years or 30 years to come back and enjoy this one moment.”
Another star who favors gentle parenting is Gabrielle Union. The actress and her husband, NBA star Dwyane Wade, share 5-year-old daughter Kaavia — but it sounds like the littlest member of the family is very much in charge.
“We give her the freedom to have a say in her space, her appearance, and the things she wants to do,” she told Parents last year. “The only way we’re going to know our child is by listening to her, watching her, and seeing what she’s interested in.”
Meanwhile, actress Alicia Silverstone has made a whole second career out of her love of attachment parenting, even writing a book on it, The Kind Mama, in 2014. “You are your baby’s food, solace, entertainment, transportation, and education, and all of that brings you and your baby closer together than you could ever imagine,” she wrote. “It strengthens your bond with your child and helps him develop a sense of contentment and belonging in the universe.”
It all sounds dreamy, but there is, of course, one big thing these stars don’t need to worry about: juggling their kids around normal 9 to 5 jobs and limited parental leave! Still, it’s refreshing to hear that celebrities who could afford to outsource literally every part of the parenting experience are opting to be hands-on instead, no matter how much the grandparents tut in disapproval.
