Parenting is amazing but it’s not easy. Every parent wants their kids to be well-behaved, well-manned humans. But children have their own personalities, which means they are different, and no parenting books can give helpful advice for a certain kid. Thankfully, parents and children mostly live together so they can understand each other by noticing hobbies, interests, and reactions to different situations in life. Still, things sometimes don't go as we expect, so we need to discipline our children to teach them responsible behavior and self-control.
And celebrities who have a busy life in the entertainment industry, don’t seem to have much time for their beloved ones. As a result, their children may have bad manners due to the lack of their parents’ advice. However, some celebrities who are often swept into the maelstrom of work clearly know how important raising kids is. They have all kinds of patience and the commitment to discipline their kids by encouraging them to learn to manage both their feelings and behavior, so-called self-monitoring. And these celebrities’ efforts paid off so that they can show off their beloved and obedient kids.
Here are 20 celebrity parents who proudly share how they discipline their children. Let’s scroll down and enjoy!
#1 Kelly Clarkson
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The singer Kelly Clarkson shared in 2018 that she's "not above" spanking her children, describing in a radio interview, "My parents spanked me and I did fine in life and I feel fine about it." Clarkson warns her kids (daughter River and son Remington) what they're in for. "I'm like, 'Hi, I'm gonna spank you on your bottom if you don't stop right now. Like, this is ridiculous.'"#2 Madonna
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Madonna shared that she wasn't allowed Lourdes to date at the age of 13. The rule was understandable: "No boys for Lourdes until she's 18 years old," and she added, "She's a good girl, though." The singer also knew that her eldest child didn't have it easy. "Late-night TV, junk food, and mess are not tolerated in my house. My daughter has a problem picking things up in her room. So if you leave your clothes on the floor, they're gone when you come home." #3 Jessica Alba
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The mom of three depended on the trusty corner timeout when her daughters, Honor, and Haven, were younger. Alba told People that: "My kids are constantly snatching things out of the other one's hand. So now it's, “Stand in the corner and put your nose against the wall!". "My two-year-old can last 15 seconds before she's like, 'OK, I'm done!' and then I'm like, 'Wait, it's not up to you!' My five-year-old can go for some time, like a minute or two."#4 Chris Pratt
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Pratt manages to shift himself between angel or evil confronting their kids. He spoke to Live with Kelly and Ryan: "I'm a softie, but I'm also strict. It's probably confusing for Jack. I'm probably the strict parent, but also pretty loving and affectionate as well. I think you've got to get respect, do what you say you're going to do, and make your kids toe the line and all that stuff. But at the same time, you give them lots of hugs and kisses."#5 Julie Bowen
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"Being your kids' best friend is not always the best parenting choice," the actress and mom of three boys Julie Bowen said to Working Mother. "It's not about everybody being happy all the time. It's about setting limits. In my house that makes my kids very unhappy, like tantrums-on-the-ground-twice-a-day unhappy. But the limits are set."#6 Michelle Obama
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It's all about the time in the Obama house. "We have rules about it," she revealed to Yahoo! in 2011. "The girls have limited television and screen time - none during the week unless it's school-related because now kids are doing these video-chat study groups. And when they're doing that, I always go in their room to make sure they're actually talking about school." Kids always make us stay alert and ready for everything that might happen.#7 Gwen Stefani
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Stefani's three sons have a discipline chart and she always put them under the control. "It's work, you know? But that's where you get the results," she shared with People. "I see a constant fear of 'How am I gonna make sure these kids are good people?' I feel like naturally, it's so easy for them to be naughty, and you get increasingly worried about it the older they get."#8 Tom Brady
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Brady decided to leave it to his wife, Gisele Bundchen. "It's the worst," he told Entertainment Tonight, then corrected himself. "Well, it's not the worst for me. I think it's the worst for my wife, who's trying to instill some discipline in [our daughter Vivian] and I just give her whatever she wants." Ugh, way to derail all Gisele's parenting.#9 Kate Gosselin
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Many years ago, when Kate Gosselin was snapped spanking one of the sextuplets, people were up in arms. Gosselin defended her decision, telling Life & Style at the time, "Whether the paparazzi are there or not, I am a mother first. I love my children and when they misbehave, I discipline them as I deem appropriate for the situation."#10 Nicole Polizzi
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Not many people believe but the adorably tanned, foul-mouthed meatball is a mom of three and has to encounter the kind of shenanigans she used to pull in the Jersey Shore house. When her son Lorenzo or daughter Giovanna gets into fights, Snooki will pretend that it's not happening. "I literally just walk into the kitchen, ignore them ... and then they come over and they say, 'I'm OK now,'" she told People. "I'm at the stage of parenthood right now where I just need to stop entertaining them. The more you pay attention to that kind of behavior, the worse it gets." #11 Solange Knowles
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Solange may be Beyoncé's younger sister, but she was a mom first and she's never concealed how she parents her son. "I limit what he can have access to," she said to Hot 97. "He just got an iPad for Christmas. That was Grandma's gift. Hell no, he doesn't have a phone. He's around a lot of sweet, nice normal kids. And also around kids who get disciplined. If he gets completely out of line, I do the three steps: 1 is the look and talk. 2 is taking away something of value to him. 3 is you need your butt popped. You don't have to do it often, like twice or three times a year. And he remembers it."#12 Candace Cameron Bure
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"I'm not afraid to admit it: We do spank our children," the Fuller House star Candace Cameron Bure shared via a blog post for Christian Women Online. "We get much of our parenting information from the Bible - that's my heart source. Several passages refer to disciplining your child."#13 Melissa McCarthy
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For Melissa McCarthy, as long as she and her husband Ben Falcone keep a united front, their daughters won't get the best of them. "It's a balancing act," she told People. "Kids are really smart. They pick up on everything and then you still have to not laugh in front of them as you tell them that something's not appropriate, or something might be too aggressive. Then, when they leave the room, Ben and I try to write down [what they did] so we don't forget and then laugh a lot without them seeing. It's a system in a web of lies. That's what it is." When they never figure out, it's all good.#14 Mark Wahlberg
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For Wahlberg, it's all about sharing and taking. "I think the most important thing is to always be involved in every aspect of their life," he said to Esquire about his four children. "To give them enough trust that they can share things with you. I don't want them to be terrified of me, you know? But I don't want them to think they can do whatever they want and get away with it, either, because they can't." That was OK, but a little bit scared.#15 Jamie Oliver
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The TV chef's disciplinary plans are very distinct from most: he forces his children to eat hot chilies if they misbehave. He once tricked his daughter Poppy into eating a scotch bonnet, and while the punishment worked, his wife Jools was not satisfied. "Poppy was quite disrespectful and rude to me and she pushed her luck," he remembered while appearing on BBC Good Food Show. "In my day, I would have got a bit of a telling-off but you are not allowed to do that. Five minutes later, she thought I had forgotten and I hadn't. She asked for an apple. I cut it up into several pieces and rubbed it with a scotch bonnet and it worked a treat. She ran up to mum and said, 'This is peppery.' I was in the corner laughing. [Jools] said to me, 'Don't you ever do that again.'" She likely learned her lesson, though, right?#16 Cate Blanchett
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"I don't enjoy being the bad cop, but sometimes I have to be," Blanchett revealed to Yahoo in 2011. "My husband and I worry about our generation trying to be friends with their children rather than parents of their children. If you're going to try and make your children like you, you're in dangerous waters I think."#17 Julie Bowen
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"Being your kids' best friend is not always the best parenting choice," the actress and mom of three boys Julie Bowen said to Working Mother. "It's not about everybody being happy all the time. It's about setting limits. In my house that makes my kids very unhappy, like tantrums-on-the-ground-twice-a-day unhappy. But the limits are set."#18 Jennie Garth
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For Jennie Garth, it was a big issue of repetition and consistency when her daughters (who are now 21, 16, and 12) were younger. "I had to give my six-year-old four timeouts two days ago," she revealed to Cookie magazine in 2009. "She kept hitting. I don't spank, though sometimes I think, 'These timeouts aren't working! What's next?' I strive for consistency and do not make idle threats. They have to know there are consequences for violence, name-calling, and not doing household chores." #19 Solange Knowles
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Solange may be Beyoncé's younger sister, but she was a mom first and she's never concealed how she parents her son. "I limit what he can have access to," she said to Hot 97. "He just got an iPad for Christmas. That was Grandma's gift. Hell no, he doesn't have a phone. He's around a lot of sweet, nice normal kids. And also around kids who get disciplined. If he gets completely out of line, I do the three steps: 1 is the look and talk. 2 is taking away something of value to him. 3 is you need your butt popped. You don't have to do it often, like twice or three times a year. And he remembers it."#20 Mayim Bialik
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"I grew up strict and that seemed to have worked to me," Bialik shared with ABC News, but acknowledged she's much more open with her sons, Frederick and Miles. "I'm a fun mom. My boys think of me as fun, but I have a lot of my parents' strong work ethic and emphasis on chores. When they ask for an allowance for their chores, I say, 'I don't get paid for my chores. I'm not paying you for yours.'"