Kristen Bell Says No Topic is Off the Table When Talking to Her Daughters, Including Dax Shepard’s Substance Abuse

Kristen Bell is causing quite a stir online over recent comments she made in a sit-down interview that was featured as the cover story in REAL SIMPLE magazine’s Game Changers issue. It was quite the game-changing cover, being the first time a celebrity was on the front page – and she came clean!

She talked about her distaste for the word ‘taboo,’ especially around her children – adding she doesn’t feel any topic is ‘off the table’ when speaking to her two daughters, who she shares with fellow actor Dax Shepard. The couple welcomed their first daughter, Delta, in 2013 and their second, Lincoln, in 2014. 

Bell went on to explain how their parenting style might be different from other households and may be shocking to some, but it’s a parenting style that she believes in and isn’t going to hold back from. Even those ‘hard topics’ that parents try to avoid, they have no issue bringing them up or talking about them.

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“I know it’s shocking, but I talk to my kids about drugs and the fact that their daddy is an addict and he’s in recovery, and we talk about sex. There are all these ‘hard topics’ that don’t have to be if you give the person on the other end your vulnerability and a little bit of credit,” the 42-year-old actress admitted. 

Her husband, Dax Shepard, has been open about his past substance use – which started in high school but quickly turned into substance abuse when he turned 18. He eventually achieved sobriety in 2005 but relapsed 16 years later after a motorcycle accident. He’s now sober again but is continuing his recovery. 

Bell wants to teach her kids necessary life skills, such as the importance of apologizing and making amends when people do the wrong thing or make a mistake. She wants them to know that ‘humans leave carnage wherever they go’ and praises those who put their pride aside and apologize when needed. 

“If there’s one thing I want to teach my kids, it’s how to make amends — and that it’s for themselves, so they can like who’s in the mirror a little bit more,” she explained further. “I really respect when someone does something wrong or hurtful, and they apologize. I’m like, ‘Yeah, right on.’ That’s important.” 

Kristen Bell and Dax Shepard Enjoy Being Parents

Kristen Bell and Dax Shepard are making the most out of being parents and are enjoying all the hilarious yet precious moments parenthood brings. In a recent interview with PEOPLE, Bell described being a parent as a lot ‘like living in a Jim Carrey movie’ – sharing some of those hilarious yet precious moments.

For example, she once found herself yelling, “Could you please stop using my toothbrush to wash your legs?’ to one of her daughters. It’s something she never thought she would say – in real life, anyway – but it’s one of those questions that only a mother or father can understand – one a lot of you can relate to!

Shepard went on to explain how his daughters are quickly becoming his ‘bros’ because they’re finally starting to formulate their own thoughts and ideas. “There are two more interesting people in the house that are computing the world differently than us,” he said, adding they can finally communicate those ideas. 

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The couple also wants to make life easier for other parents, which is why they created a company – Hello Bello – that creates premium diapers and other affordable baby products for mothers and fathers. Their business has completely taken off, to the point they opened their first diaper warehouse two years ago.