Alexei Hay / RedbookWe love Kristen Bell—not only for her quirky personality and contagious smile but also for her ability to keep it real on all levels, including motherhood.
The 35-year-old mother-of-two—who stars is the appropriate new flick Bad Moms—opened up to Redbook magazine about being a parent to daughters Lincoln, 3, and Delta, 1, with husband Dax Shephard. From discussing moms on social media to explaining how she's setting boundaries with her daughters, she continues along her path of always dishing the truth.
In fact, her latest comments got us thinking about all the times she's gotten real when talking about motherhood. Check 'em out (and take notes, mamas!) below:
1. On Setting Boundaries: "Recently I've had an epiphany that if I'm as nice to my daughter as I want to be, she's not going to respect me," she told Redbook for her August 2016 cover story. "Giving your kids strong boundaries is good for them, because if you just let them do whatever they want, you raise a jerk."
2. On Social Media Moms: "In the age of social media, when you can edit your life in beautiful pictures, it's important to remind moms that all of us are wearing yogurt and all of our hands smell like urine," she continued in Redbook. "When you present an unrealistic idea of perfection to people, it's not fair."
3. On Finding Balance: When discussing her work life after becoming a mother in 2013, Kristen said, "I still want a career. [My kids] will always be number one, but I think if you cut that cord of obsessiveness, then you can work and be a good mother and wife," she told Redbook at the time.
4. On Letting Her Kids Humble Her: "[Lincoln] is not my biggest fan," she admitted to E! News last year. "She just doesn't know what I do for a living! She couldn't care less. [It] is extremely humbling to come home to someone who couldn't care less about what you do!"
5. On the Pressure to Lose Weight After a Baby: "Who cares? I didn't lose my baby weight for over a year," she told the Today.com on Tuesday. "And when I look down, even now, at the extra skin on my belly, it's a reminder that I've done something spectacular. It's a reminder that I'm a superhero. And I'm proud of it."
6. On Reminding Herself What's Most Important: "I refused to worry about something I could not change, and I still refuse. Look, I'm like any other woman," she explained to Redbook in 2013, after giving birth to Lincoln. "I had to surrender to not worrying about the way I looked, how much I weighed, because that's just part of the journey of having a baby. I am not a woman whose self-worth comes from her dress size."
7. On Facing the Media After Giving Birth: "I made a commitment to not allow my narrative for the year after having a baby to be about my weight," she continued telling the publication. "And I think that freed me up and it made me less concerned with all the pressures that revolve around body image. I was like, 'I have a baby. Do you know how awesome that is? It's so radical! Why on earth am I going to be so concerned with my pants size?'"
8. On Still Having Fun With Dax After Kids: "Before we had kids, I'd say to Dax, 'I don't want to be like those people.' I saw a few parents I didn't envy and was terrified I'd become crotchety and close-minded like them," she told Natural Health magazine in February 2015. "And he said, 'Those people had bad personalities before they had kids.' Which is maybe the best point ever made. I was like, 'You're right! And we're fun, so let's stay fun.'"
9. On Her Girls' Unique Names: Both Lincoln and Delta were names Dax had come up with. Kristen joked during an interview with Ellen DeGeneres why she let him pick them: "He's substantially bigger than I am, so I lost." LOL!
10. On Teaching Her Children to Accept Others: While opening up about working in the community and working to help those struggling with addiction—something Dax dealt with several years ago—Kristen has focused her parenting on making sure her daughters accept everyone. "It is the most important thing I'm trying to teach," she told E! News earlier this year. "I am trying to teach my kids not be stunted by country lines, language barriers, or religious boundaries. And that all human beings, and everyone in the world is part of someone's family and they should be treated as such."
11. On Feeling Great While Giving Birth: Dax had explained on Ellen last year that he was terrified during Kristen's 33-hour labor with their second daughter. However, Kristen had a whole different view. "It was kind of a wonderful experience for me," she told Ellen. "While they were doing it, I actually thought, 'What else could we get done down there? Maybe lengthen the shins? I've always wanted to be like 5-foot-7.' Just anything to keep the epidural flowing. These modern hospitals, man! They treat you right."
12. On Getting Out of the House After Two Kids: During her same interview with talk show host, Kristen also admitted she was pretty happy to leave her two daughters behind for a bit. "This feels like a vacation coming here," she laughed. "It really does. Everyone here speaks in full sentences and no one's asked me to wipe their buns…yet," Bell joked. "I'm very happy to be out of the house right now."
13. On Baby's First Christmas: While chatting with E! News about Lincoln's first Christmas in 2013, she was totally blunt about gift-buying. "No, I'm going to wrap up a bunch of stuff from the house because she's still kind of an idiot," she laughed. "I'm going to wrap up like tissue boxes and she'll be thrilled. That's why I'm not really going to buy anything. But I bought us matching pajamas!"
14. On Having More Kids: Now that they have two little ones, everyone wants to know if the couple will add another baby into the mix. "No, I don't want to be outnumbered!" she said in an interview last year. "I think we're stopping at two. I'm not even sharing a soda with Dax until he gets his tubes tied!" Of course, if they do end up with a third, she hopes the baby never finds out they weren't planning on it!