Like Mother, Like Daughter: How Kelly Clarkson Is Raising Her Mini-Me River Rose to Be Empowered and "Ballsy"

By Johnni Macke Apr 19, 2018 5:04 PMTags
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Kelly Clarkson is a strong, fierce female and that's why she's raising her mini me River Rose to be equally as bold and brave.

As one of People's featured celebrities in the mag's "Beauty Issue 2018" this week, the American Idol winner is sharing empowering words of wisdom for her 3-year-old daughter and girls everywhere (and we're taking note too!).

"She will run a company one day because there's no way she's gonna work for anyone," Clarkson told People of River. "She does not heed to advice very well. She's just very ballsy, which is awesome." 

The "Meaning of Life" singer hasn't just inspired her daughter and other children (she has River, son Remington and two stepchildren with husband Brandon Blackstock) over the years with her empowering quotes, she's inspired her fans and followers too.

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Kelly Clarkson Shares the Cutest Photos of Daughter River Rose!

See what Clarkson has said over the years about her strong and beautiful daughter, as well as all of the great messages she has for us all below. Spoiler alert: You will feel fierce and fabulous after reading these empowering messages!

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1. On being bold:

The Voice coach knows that when it comes to raising a strong female, you need to let your little one do her own thing and progress at her own pace. When it comes to daughter River Rose, she's already shown she's a boss, and Clarkson supports that.

"I love that [River] is very bold, and she's progressive for 3. She watches Jurassic Park and loves it, and Harry Potter...it doesn't affect her and she's just very grown up and very boss," Clarkson told People in April 2018. "I don't want my daughter to be a pushover when she's older. So that's an awesome thing, it's an awesome aspect of her character. At the same time, you also want to have an adult that doesn't think they're right all the time. But toddlers are just so egocentric and it's just a stage that some people don't grow out of, let's be real. But mine will."

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2. On being bullied:

After her step-daughter Savannah came to her and said she was being bullied by an adult woman, Clarkson had some wise words to tell her. "I said, 'This is gonna happen so often, so this would be a good time to learn to take the high road,'" Clarkson told PrideSource in 2017. "'Block them or whatever you want to do to not see it, if you don't want to see it.' Bullying is gonna happen, so we tell our kids, 'That's gonna happen. I can't protect you from that. There's nothing we can do about that. There are no bullying cops.'"

3. On standing up for yourself:

The "Love So Soft" singer has been telling her children for as long as she can remember that they need to stand up for themselves and the people they care about. "I said, ‘You tell mommy if somebody does anything inappropriate. You stand up for yourself,'" Clarkson told People at Variety‘s Power of Women event in 2017. "Even from a young age, I think you should instill that people, your children, should always stand up for themselves or speak out when something is wrong...I think if we start it at that young age, and you start molding people and growing to these very elevated individuals that help elevate society. It's a really crucial time when you have children right now."

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4. On having a powerful role model in film:

In case you missed it, Clarkson is a major fan of Wonder Woman and so is her daughter River. "The story of Belle [and] the Beast is a little scary. She was in a dungeon, trapped, and they fell in love. Aurora, she just slept it out! But [my daughter] loves Wonder Woman. She's 3. I probably shouldn't show it to her. I know I'm being judged, [but] all the grown-up stuff goes over her head. It's nice to have this bold, female figure for your girl," Clarkson told Variety of the Gal Gadot blockbuster. 

"Once she saw the little girl in Woman Woman defend herself and all that she loved, she started acting it out, and I couldn't have been more proud," Clarkson added. "You're a little proud 'cause you're like, ‘Aw, you're cute in the Belle dress.' But you're more proud when she's like [fighting evil]."

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Gal Gadot's Best Looks

5. On doing what you love:

In October 2017, Clarkson released her eighth studio album Meaning of Life and, in addition to it being the first album from the Texas native in two years, it proved that Clarkson could do it her way. That message of strength and perseverance while doing what you love is clear in numerous tracks on the album, especially "I Don't Think About You."

"I think that it's important to have that light at the end of the tunnel at the end of these songs," Kelly said in a behind-the-scenes video of making the song. "'I Don't Think About You' is basically, saying, 'Just so you know, I was wrecked a bit and that did deter me maybe for a minute,'" she continued. "But I always continued my path and I always continued to do what I loved and you didn't stop me, like, you didn't break me.'" Preach, Kelly, preach!

6. On a positive body image:

Clarkson has always fluctuated when it comes to weight and it took a while for her to realize that it's more important to be happy and healthy than to care about people judging you for your size, whether it be too big or too small.

"If you gauge your life on what other people think, you're going to be in a constant state of panic trying to please everyone," she told Redbook when asked about being a positive body image hero to women. "People should just concentrate on their own lives and their own health and their own happiness, and whatever that looks like for you, be happy with it."