Jessica Alba is sharing her experience about going to therapy with her 13-year-old daughter, Honor.
Alba chatted on Katherine Schwarzenegger‘s Instagram series, Before, During & After Baby, on July 22, admitting that she began seeing a therapist with her eldest child when she was just 11 years old.
“I felt like my relationship really suffered with my parents because they didn’t know how to communicate with me and how I needed to be parented,” Alba told Schwarzenegger. “So I didn’t want that breakdown with Honor, so we went to therapy together.”
Jessica Alba, who shares her three children —Honor, Haven,9, and Hayes,3, —with her husband, Cash Warren, and spoke on her parenting approach.
“I take the approach of making sure they understand boundaries and respect but trying to see them each individually and meet them where they are,” she said.
“[Honor] really felt empowered to find her voice, speak her voice, and own her opinions,” Alba said of their sessions, adding that her daughter was able to bring up her concerns in therapy.
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“She was like, ‘You need to spend more time with me alone without Haven around.’ That was a big one,” Alba said. “And, ‘You need to treat me like I’m me and she’s her. You can’t mush us together.’ I have to say, I kind of still struggle with that.”
The CEO’s therapist ultimately tasked the mom of three with scheduling 30 minutes a week for each of her kids. “I haven’t started this practice yet. I have a hard time with consistency, so that’s another thing that I’m working on,” Alba admitted.
“It’s not just doing sort of the, Well, we ate dinner together, and we did homework together, and going through the motions of day-to-day, but we’re going to cover up 30 minutes we’re gonna do whatever you want.”
She joked, “I don’t know if I can spend five hours playing trucks with Hayes. So I’m trying to make it’s fair, like, Let’s start with 30 minutes, and it could become whatever it becomes. But then they feel like they’re getting that special one-on-one time.”
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“So great getting deep and @honest with amazing mama, Jessica Alba!” the caption on Instagram begins.
“We chatted about everything from being a mother to 3, attempting to balance work and life, and why started her company after becoming a mother. Jess also shared that she and her oldest daughter go to therapy together, which I love, as a way to keep the lines of communication open and avoid the pitfalls that can arise during the teenage years. “
“She had some great mommy tips: always have an extra set of clothes, always have snacks on hand (especially in the car), and always know it will take more than 15 minutes to leave the house,” the caption read. “For even more amazing insights, watch the full interview with Jess, and make sure to tune in next week for another new episode!”
Be sure to watch the full discussion, above.