Jennifer Garner is a busy lady. She’s about to get back to work and she’s thrilled about it after taking a lot of time off to be a stay-at-home mom. When Garner stays at home she also gives it her all. In a press conference for her upcoming movie, Danny Collins (we covered some other quotes she gave for the film yesterday), Garner said that she’s very involved in her daughters’ school and extracurricular activities. She said she’s been the room mom for Seraphina for two years in a row and also works as the Girl Scout leader for Violet. That’s some commitment. Here’s more, thanks to People:
On sharing parenting tips with Reese Witherspoon
If I run into Reese, she and I have so much to talk about. We’ll be on the street corner and just be like, ‘What do you do about this, and how did you handle this? I’m so grateful for that very specific kind of friend.On her morning routine with the kids
I make sure everyone has notes for their lunch box every day and [figure out] who’s having something special, and deciding who I read extra to [in the] morning.She will check in on Ben soon
I’m going straight to New York from here, and then I’m going to visit Ben [on set in Atlanta to] make sure he’s good. It’s just what you do.On volunteering at her daughters’ school
I’ve been the room mom for pre-school and kindergarten this year, and I’m the Girl Scout troop leader for third grade. When I’m home, I dive in, [and] I try to Betty Crocker it up as much as I can.
Garner is one of three girls, she’s close to her family and she’s said in the past that her two sisters are very hands-on crafty moms. So I get why she’s so involved in her daughter’s school. I’m busy gossiping all day and have a ton of other stuff to do. It would be too much for me to work at my son’s school too. I do help my son with his homework and activities and I donate to the school. Plus I live in a small town and the PTA and school activities can be incredibly political. There are surely rewards to it, but you have to be a people pleaser to deal with some of the things that come up. We know Garner is a people pleaser. She makes that pretty clear. In comparison, Reese knows the cat is out of the bag and she doesn’t care as much at this point what we think of her. There’s a kind of power in that.
Also, I think Garner has the time to write notes to her kids and read to them because she’s probably not the one preparing their lunches or getting them ready. She’s an involved mom, she just has help. That also explains why she has time for all the activities.
photo credit: FameFlynet
“visit Ben…to make sure he’s good.”
Heh.
Exactly. Pretty good chance he’s being naughty, not good.
Should have been– visit Ben to see if she detects signs of the cheating.
She has to be ok or at least fine with it. That or she grudgingly accepts it. You don’t get in bed with Ben Affleck for the long haul without being ok sharing him with another woman.
Atlanta does have premium gentleman clubs so he should be fine.
hehe- totally.
I have no shade for her having help. I would be a lot more involved with my kids if I could outsource cooking/cleaning/laundry. If I had the money I absolutely would have help.
When my kids were tiny I had someone come clean the house every other week, it not cheap but was honestly some of the best money I’ve ever spent. Now that my kids are older I clean myself again and miss having someone else do it so much.
Thanks for that too! I used to make extra money cleaning homes when I was in college.
Star Jones said it best: “If I only make a dime, 5 cents of that is going to someone to scrub my toilets.” If your time is better spent elsewhere than cleaning and you have the means to hire someone, I see no harm in doing it.
I would have been lost without the nanny when my kids were young.
I am really involved with my kids, their activities, and their schools, and I don’t have any outside help (other than a lawn service). Different strokes for different folks, but it’s not all that hard to get the kids ready, lunches made, and a story read before they’re off to school. I’m a room mom, which only means taking care of parties (four times per year), and one field trip, and then I volunteer a few hours a week in each kids’ class. Being actively involved with your kids doesn’t mean it’s life-consuming, but it can be if you let it.
Are you a stay at home mum?
@atrain: you forgot to add ‘for me’.
Remember when she complained that she’s always asked about her kids/family life whilst Ben hardly ever is? This interview is why. If you don’t want your family to be the focus, you don’t start talking about lunch boxes and being the room mom at your kids school. You shut that crap down and talk about your work. If you choose to open that door, that’s on you.
But the work she does choose to do is rarely what you’d call noteworthy or stellar. She seems to go out of her way to choose cr*p. Maybe Reese can give her some guidance on that front. When actresses indicate that they are picky about their projects and their desire for family time, I have visions of Julia Roberts, Nicole Kidman, Cate Blanchett, etc. and the (usually) great performances they give in (usually) critically acclaimed films. If
reese can actually act, jennifer not so much.
I think she’s discussing it because she will be going back to work shortly. She’s been a stay-at-home mom (in Hollywood terms) so she’s noting what she has done recently so as not to give off the impression she’s been doing nothing (which I wouldn’t have thought anyway, but people form weird assumptions when you’re away from your career for a while. I think Ben is dependent other to keep things organized and sailing smoothly, but somehow when he’s wining awards people think she’s coasting on his fame. But I don’t think he’d be where he is without her).
She has been working though. 3 movies released last year, 2 releases coming up, and before that she was doing at least one film a year.
It’s not like this is her first project after years off, she works consistently, more than some other high profile actresses who nonetheless manage to avoid the motherhood questions.
Oh, okay. I thought I saw some other headline that said Jennifer Garner was going back to work after a long hiatus. I was a little surprised at the notion that she hadn’t been working professionally, but I guess I took the headline too literally.
Good observation! Its so true.
This type of share might have been standard back in the olden days but it borders heavily on pure braggadocia and she comes across kinda douchey for it.
ps. I think she’s is living in the land of delusion and time will tell……(not that I wish her any ill-will)
Honestly, I find it kind of refreshing to see a Hollywood mom who’s actually very involved with her kids. Don’t know that there are many like that in the business.
I agree, but with Garner you must realize this is an image she has cultivated and she shows you what she wants you to see and the media is complicit in this — i.e. her help, nannies, etc. are usually cropped out of pictures when the article is focussing on her being a “mom”. She is more hands on than most, but has plenty of help.
I’m sure it is an image to a certain degree, but she still seems pretty dedicated.
Also, my mom had “help” when we were kids so I don’t think of it as a negative.
I agree that the image is very cultivated. That’s not to say that she’s not an involved and dedicated mom, it’s to say that she wants you to KNOW how much she’s an involved and dedicated mom. That’s why I can’t with her. It’s also like (and this is true for a lot of celebrities) she has an idealised view of motherhood. It’s all cherries and sundaes, soccer and Betty Crocker. Motherhood is messy. There’s discipline, illness, homework, laundry and poop. But I guess celebs delegate those tasks. So it’s all roses and hugs all the time.
Don’t get me wrong – I think she’s an extremely dedicated mom and that she’s genuine with her kids – it’s pretty hard to fake it where kids are concerned and it’s obvious from the kids’ faces that they love their time with her. I just agree with those who say “Mom” is her brand and to an extent, there is a manufactured element to it.
I’m not sure if that’s true. What was the show she was on talking about how her nanny taught her beerpong? She made it pretty clear that she had a nanny who was watching the kids at that moment.
I agree that jennifer’s “Betty Crockering” is a focus in respect to PR and the Aflecks benefit from it, but I don’t beleive it’s manufactured. I see it as genuine, but yes, definitely zoomed in on for PR purposes.
There are probably many other celeb moms just as involved as her. They just stay away from the paps & don’t talk about it.
Right? For all we know Julia Roberts puts notes in her kids’ lunch, reads to them every morning and is a class mom. However she’s not out there constantly selling this to us. I couldn’t even pick her kids out of a line up, ditto Matt Damon’s. I don’t doubt that Jennifer’s activities with her kids are genuine, however she is out hustling her “mom brand” every time she steps out of the door.
Agreed! I’m so tired of her. She’s a mediocre actress and the whole “look at what a great Mom I am” shtick has gotten really old. She reminds me of people on Facebook who are constantly posting about what wonderful parents they are, how much they volunteer, etc.-it’s like it’s there’s this need to be recognized for every good thing that they do.
Sure but why is it so apparent she needs the world to be a witness to her SUPERMOMDOM?
This. I’ve just been hunting all over the internet for the old SNL skit where Jane Curtin is the perfect mom: “and I fold their lunchbags just SO”….
I would rather be in JLo’s Brownie troop.
Ha, can you imagine? I’d guess a uniform re-design might be one of her first orders of business.
That sounds like the movie Troop Beverly Hills.
Or Mariah Carey’s. It probably is bad to say, but sometimes I love a good train wreck and watching Mariah in action would be fun. She would talk about fairies and rainbows and I bet she knows a lot about My Little Pony. And I bet she would try to out sing all the children, and would chow down on a whole box of Thin Mints and refuse to share with the children. It would next level.
^^THIS^^ I nearly spat out my coffee! But I imagine butterflies factor in heavily here…
There’s a whole lot I could say about Jennifer Garner but I won’t. She seems to be a dedicated mother to her children and devoted wife to none other than Ben Affleck. Anyone who works hard to create and maintain a healthy environment for their children gets a huge point in my book.
She strikes me as the kind of woman who doesn’t do this stuff because she enjoys it, but because it “looks good.” IDK, all I see is “PR machine” when I see Jennifer Garner – and my “don’t believe the hype” radar alarms.
I disagree. I get the vibe that she loves doing all of this stuff with the kids. Maybe I’m wrong, but that’s always been the feeling I’ve gotten from her.
I get that vibe too and even if she was able to fake it 100% of the time for the cameras, where the kids are concerned, what you see is what you get — i.e. they aren’t “acting” happy to be out with their mom, they genuinely like being with her and it’s written all over their faces. That said, she does trade on the mom image and knows it sells.
Totally agree. She’s not my favourite celeb in the world but she seems sincere in her love for family life and her enjoyment of domesticity. I think she’s got her angle figured out: she’ll never bring home an Oscar, but she’s charming and likable, the “relatable” mom in Hollywood. She can work on fairly sh*tty projects for short periods of time, get paid decently, and her Hollywood Mom image sells; seems like a pretty good life, except for having to live with Ben Affleck (who has such an aura of insufferability about him.)
I beleive it’s genuine and sincere. She has already gushed about her childhood and no doubt, she wants her girls to have unfettered access to her and she wants to be involved in everything they do. Does she benefit from it from a PR standpoint? Sure. But that doesn’t mean it’s manufactured. I like her. She seems real.
She sounds like a great mom although her comment about checking in on Ben made it almost sound like he was one of her kids, lol. With so much to focus on with my kids, I pretty much stay out of my husband’s work stuff. I know I’m not the greatest wife but I figure he can take care of himself.
Maybe she’s checking in to make sure he’s not drinking.
That too. Drinking and Gambling. He has been in trouble before for his Ga,bling habit. And banned from certain Casinos.
Dunno about that. He does seem like a giant child. Before he ever got with her.
why does her hair always looks so dirty and unkept?
” I’m so grateful for that very specific kind of friend.
pretty telling statement. pretty specific with her wording. **smiles**
I like her, she definitely seems more hands on than a lot of moms in Hollywood, good for her. I’m sure she has help but I would use the sh*t out of help if I had that kind of money, I’d get to focus on the more fun parts of parenting instead of stressing over meals or a clean house. I have a first grader and I respect those moms who dedicate so much time to volunteering at school, I do what I can but I still feel guilty for not doing more. The PTA moms actually scare me a little, but honestly they do a ton of work so I shouldn’t hate on em:)
Or maybe after constant family time she wants adult time with her husband? Everyone needs sexytime!
I agree she is very bland, but I don’t fault her for it. I wish I had her time and money to be a more involved mother.
I’m sure you are correct. Take advantage of the fact that she’s seeing her hubby with the kids back at home. Obviously they are into each other with three kids!
she’s unbearable
Truly. Enough of her, CB, please!
The kids are adorable, her priorities are good, Jennifer needs to fix her hair.
My mom sometimes wrote notes and put them in my lunchbox when she made my lunch. And she was never a stay at home mom. She has worked as a compliance officer for major corporations my entire life and still does (and I’m almost 27 now) and would often not get home until after 7 pm. We got rid of baby sitters early on due to several unfortunate incidents. So my parents had no extra help and my mom still made time for my sister and I despite her full time crazy work schedule. Some parents do make it work without help from nannies or child minders.
I am involved with my son’s school, class, sports, etc. I cook most nights and always make some kind of sweet treat on the weekends. I take him to school every day and I hide notes and stickers in his bookbag sometimes. I enjoy it. He enjoys it. He’s proud to have me at school and his friends and classmates are comfortable with me. It gives me the opportunity to really see for myself how he is being educated and what his interests are as well strengths and weaknesses. I know the kids he’s with 7.5 hours every week day. I wouldn’t trade it for the world. Once he’s in highschool, maybe even before then, he probably wont’ want me as involved, so I treasure this time. I can do it because I only work part time. If I worked full-time I wouldn’t be able to juggle all I do for him, the house, my job, etc. so I totally get wanting/needing a nanny and I don’t hate on it. I don’t believe she manufactures any of it. It’s part of who she’s become and she’s going to miss it when she goes back to work.
Yeah – extremely mediocre actress. And really can’t stand the hypocrisy about media asking about her family life instead of her work. Um, it’s what she puts out there, it’s the story she wants to tell to the world. I truly believe she said all that because it put her over the edge that reporters were all asking Ben about Emily W. during Gone Girl interviews.
Am I the only one that thinks her son Sam looks like Matt Damon. Things that make you go hmmmmmmm