Angelina Jolie brought Day of the Dead cookies to Vivienne’s Shaolin karate class

42nd Toronto International Film Festival - 'Breadwinner' - Premiere

There’s been a lot of concern and concern-trolling over the years about Angelina Jolie’s parenting skills. Maybe years from now, one of the kids will write a tell-all book about how Angelina was the second coming of Mommy Dearest (The Leg of Doom Dearest/The Villainess Jolie Was My Mother). Until then, I have to say… the kids seems pretty well-adjusted, all things considered. I think the past year and a half has been hard on them, but I think it says a lot that Angelina hasn’t been working, and she’s been at home with them full-time. Jolie was never going to be a Betty Crocker/Jennifer Garner type of mom, let’s be real. Jolie can’t even boil an egg. But she can BUY cookies for little Vivienne’s karate class, and she can show up for the class to watch Viv do her sweet Shaolin moves.

She may not be a typical soccer mom, but Angelina Jolie appeared a fully engaged karate mother during a recent class in North Hollywood. The Oscar winner surprised parents at Shaolin American Self Defense Academy when she showed up with daughter Vivienne Jolie Pitt, 9, and Day of the Dead-decorated cookies from Porto’s Bakery for the dozen or so kids.

According to a parent with a child in the class, “Every time Vivienne did a move, Angelina made sure to watch and smile at her — it was sweet.”

The source added that Jolie kept busy in the class reading a script, and it must’ve been top secret because it had her name printed on each page. It’s a precaution taken by producers to prevent leaks. It was recently reported that Jolie will voice star in The One and Only Ivan, a Disney film based on the Newbery Medal-winning book written by Katherine Applegate and illustrated by Patricia Castelao. As a director, the Oscar winner was honored along with Luong Ung at the Nov. 5 Hollywood Film Awards with the Hollywood Foreign Language Film Award for their Netflix film First They Killed My Father.

[From The Hollywood Reporter]

I mean… of course this is exactly the kind of story Angelina wants out there, for about a million different reasons. As much as I would love Jolie to return to leather pants, blood vials and badassery, it’s clear that her evolution is now towards Cool Mom status, plus acting and directing once or twice a year. I wonder if it was an issue that she only brought cookies for a dozen kids and not the whole class? I wonder if any of the other moms took issue with the Day-of-the-Dead-themed cookies? I wonder who was the source for THR’s story?

Angelina Jolie signs and poses for fans at the Directors Guild of America in Hollywood

Photos courtesy of WENN, Backgrid.

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110 Responses to “Angelina Jolie brought Day of the Dead cookies to Vivienne’s Shaolin karate class”

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  1. Nicole says:

    I must have missed the part where any of her kids have Mexican ancestry which is my biggest issue…
    …other than that I don’t get this story.

    • Luna says:

      Huh, so raising culturally aware children is unacceptable now? Are only Pagans allowed to celebrate Christmas according to the Roman timing of the holiday? Greeks only at Easter? That’s ridiculous.

      • Anna says:

        This is actually how some people think, it’s riduculous and very close minded. I think it’s great if someone wants to celebrate my country’s holidays!

      • Beth says:

        +100 I agree with you. Only Irish at St, Patricks day?I’d also be honored if someone wants to be interested and celebrate my country or ancestors culture, not sneer at them

      • Nicole says:

        Sorry what part of Day of the Dead cookies are part of the culture? Because I’ve NEVER seen that at my friends house and she celebrates the holiday

      • Severin88 says:

        I guess as a Colombian I should just stick to eating strictly Colombian food and never dare to celebrate and appreciate any other culture ever. I for one love when people explore different facets of my country.

        STAY IN YOUR OWN LANES FOREVER PEOPLE!! 🙄

      • Mia4s says:

        Let that be a lesson folks, @Nicole’s friend doesn’t do it, so no Mexican ever has made or bought cookies on Dia De Los Muertos.

        She’s not making and selling her own line of cookies, she bought something. At best you could look at the bakery’s background: “Portos”? I’m guessing Hispanic. What is people’s obsession about eating food being cultural appropriation? It’s ridiculous. I guess I should stop patronizing that small family-owned Caribbean restaurant down the street for Caribbean food because I have no related heritage. Caribbean people only! Sure in my city that would cut their customer base down to about 25 people but hey too bad for them! What I would not do is open a competing restaurant making the same food. That’s the difference.

      • Severin88 says:

        Amen @MIA4S!!!! Ugh oh….I’m not affiliated with any religion. Am I in trouble now. 🙁
        I’m going to go ahead and cancel myself.

      • Citney anise says:

        The cookies were brought to class a day after Halloween. Belated Halloween treats for the kids. The class is small, so there were plenty of cookies to go around. They were detailed and cute cookies. Nothing nefarious, so haters will have to find something else to focus on.

      • ElleC says:

        I think some people have a hard time distinguishing between cultural appropriation and appreciation. Appropriation is like stealing someone else’s unpublished essay, handing it in as your own and unfairly benefiting from a bump to your grades. Appreciation is more like citing passages from someone else’s published work in your own essay, with clear attribution, and where the citation benefits the original author.

        There was a really good example in Portland recently where two girls went to Mexico and actually stole local women’s recipes which they took back to the States, claimed as their own, and profited from, taking business from Mexican restauranteurs in their home town. That’s cultural appropriation. Buying, eating and learning how to make Mexican food from willing teachers, that’s appreciation. At least, that’s where I draw the line.

        An aside, I’ve sometimes wondered if the rebranding of tortillas as “wraps” was a kind of white washing / cultural appropriation…

      • Helen Smith says:

        I agree with you Luna. The cultural appropriation argument is bu-@s§-t. Follow that one to its logical conclusion and we would be in big trouble with celebrating all kinds of holidays which are layers of cultural appropriation over the course of millenia. Don’t believe me? Look up the history of celebrations like Halloween or Christmas. And with food the same thing. You would have to outlaw fushion cuisine for starters since it often is done by chefs who are culturally appropriating cuisine from other cultures and mixing them with their own. It is ridiculous. I give the anti-cultural appropriation crowd major side eye. We don’t live in cultural silos and never have. The history of humanity is one culture encountering another one and a blending occuring. No way you are going to keep people separated in cultural silos in a place like Los Angeles or the USA in general with so many immigrant and indigenous communities living in close proximity, mixing socially and even matrimonially with one another.

    • TheOtherMaria says:

      They don’t have any Mexican ancestry but it’s not as if she dressed them up as a caricature, she simply brought cookies for some kids, it’s a non issue for this Mexican.

      /the fact that I can’t even type out Mexican without a burrito emoji popping up is far more offensive, IMO

      • Susanne says:

        Wow at the burrito emoji. If you type Chinese do you get chopsticks, or a fortune e cookie? I guess there are worse ways to minimize a culture, but still offensive.

    • Anna says:

      What?

      • Aoife says:

        I’m almost impressed at how this poster has somehow managed to keep some of her outrage energy in reserve to unleash on Day of the Dead cookies of all things.

    • Millenial says:

      I imagine with CoCo about to come out, there will a LOT of Day of the Dead themed cookies, birthday cakes, party favors, etc… coming up. It seems society already had this argument about Moana and the consensus seemed to be that we should let kids be kids and as long we are respectful and teach our kids the difference between celebrating culture and cultural appropriation, Day of the Dead cookies are fine.

    • EOA says:

      Even though I think the praise Jolie gets here for doing normal parent things is excessive, I am hard pressed to find this criticism-worthy. You don’t have to be of one ancestry to enjoy the food of another culture. Especially when you live in an area where a lot of people of that culture live and especially when that community is facing a lot of pressure.

    • AN says:

      Okay if you don’t understand the difference between actively taking part in a culture and using caricatures of said cultures I don’t know what to tell you. That’s like saying having star of david cookies is taking part in Jewish holiday celebrations.

      • Who ARE these people? says:

        Anybody wanting a Star of David cookie with blue sprinkles is welcome at my Chanukah party no questions asked.

      • EOA says:

        This seems like people wanting to criticize her just to criticize her. The initial criticism was “none of her kids are Mexican, so how dare she bring cookies that represent Mexican culture.” Now the criticism is “this doesn’t truly represent Mexican culture, how dare she?” So which is it – is she appropriating Mexican culture or is she not being authentic enough?

        You don’t have to be a stan to think that the criticism is a little much. We live in a multicultural society where often subculture’s traditions jump into the mainstream. That’s a good thing. No one is going to think that Jolie is inappropriately claiming Mexican heritage merely because she brought some Day of the Dead cookies to her daughter’s shaolin (which I should also point out comes from another culture) class.

      • magnoliarose says:

        I like sharing my culture with others, and that is one of the reasons I chose the schools I did for my children. They actively learn about each other’s cultures. We have non-Jewish friends over for Shabbat. Children enjoy it with innocence and respect, and I believe if we did more of it we would have a more tolerant world.
        The Jolie-Pitt kids are from different countries and travel, so I like it.

    • Malificent says:

      I live in Colorado and about 1/4 of my town is of Mexican descent. Day of the Dead and Mexican Independence Day are celebrated at my son’s school. Nobody would think twice if this Anglo mom brought Day of the Dead cookies to help with the celebration. If I stuck to bringing foods only related to my own ethnic heritage, I don’t think the kids would appreciate lutefisk quite so much….

      • frankly says:

        And lefse! Mmmm! What is it? Basically tortillas, but made of potatoes! Then we put butter, sugar and cinnamon on them, roll it up and tell kids it’s cookie.

      • Malificent says:

        The kids would be way more on board with lefse! I just picked lutefisk for comedic effect….

        When I make my grandmother’s fattigman recipe, my Mexican American friends joke that they are Norwegian Sopapillas. Just about every culture makes fried dough with powered sugar…. I like sharing what I grew up with with my friends and neighbors and they feel the same.

      • Lady D says:

        I think bread and soup are a universal language. Every culture that was, is, or will be has a variation on bread and soup. As far as fried food goes, I firmly believe the desire for fried food is hardwired in our DNA. If you’re human you have to respond to fried food.

    • kimbers says:

      we’re mexican and my mom would buy Hanukkah wrapping paper, went to greek festivals, celebrate chinese New Year, shop Japanese, eat Korean. we went to other religion church functions(JV) to understand their beliefs. This was in the 80s and I thank her for raising us that way. it taught us to be more understanding and engaging with people.

    • jj says:

      I am not Hispanic but would celebrate Cinco De Mayo yearly. Also like to celebrate Chinese New Year. Always good to integrate other cultures into your life .

    • Ann says:

      My town holds an All Souls Procession every year and it’s very well attended. Everyone is welcome to paint their faces and eat traditional Mexican food made specifically for this holiday. Wearing sugar skull items is very common. It’s meant to be an educational experience, which it always is, and very fun too!

    • Maria S says:

      This is a truly ridiculous position. A stick with your own kind position. A narrow minded, exclusive, and irrational position. Please seriously think about the implications of what you wrote and stop looking for dumb reasons to hate a stranger you “know” from the movies.

    • Ennie says:

      OMG I am Mexican and I don’t see anything bad in them eating sugar skulls or cookies or whatever. They live in LA, a melting pot with plenty of Mexicans or other hispanics. They like to eat pupusas too. If they (or anyone reading this) wantbto dress up in (preferably original) mexican outfits, or sing rancheras, they can, as a Mexican, have my blessings. As far as ot is not demeaning there is no problem with it.

    • Monica says:

      As a Mexican all I can say is good for her. Day of the Dead is fun and its cool that non-Mexicans choose to partake in it, because I always thought it was awesome.

    • Plewas says:

      Dude, they live in LA, dia a de los muertos is a thing here, and she bought some cool sugar skull cookies. I give my Latina stamp of cookie approval. LA is very multicultural and you end up partaking in the cultural influences around you cause it’s inevitable, like me making latkes for my kids around the time their Jewish friends are celebrating Hanukkah.

      • magnoliarose says:

        I have never met a child that does not like Mexican food or respond to the festivities. Isn’t it a part of West Coast culture too? Gorditas and tamales are favorite, and my kids love Masa dumpling soup.

      • ferragamo says:

        Can confirm! LA is all about dia de los muertos. Majorly fun. It would be nice if everyone calmed down about the cultural appropriation stuff.

    • mary s. says:

      Porto’s is Cuban, btw. Awesome bakery, but the potato thingies are the bomb!

  2. Maya says:

    Umm Angelina has been looking after the children and only working once every year or two since she became a mother.

    4 years between Maleficent and By the Sea acting wise. Few years between By the Sea and FTKMF directing. And she is scheduled to act in Maleficent 2 after 3 years since her last acting role.

    And cooking and baking aren’t the only way to be a real mother. Women who cook aren’t automatically the best mothers and women who aren’t cooking and also not the worst mothers.

    Angelina looked amazing at the Governors ball and here is a lovely video of her and Agnes dancing. You can see these beautiful, accomplished and intelligent women really enjoy each other’s company.

    https://youtu.be/f2c5QilMiic

  3. Kate says:

    It sounds like she bought them for the whole class. ” she brought cookies for the dozen or so kids” sounds like the class only had about that number and she brought cookies for everyone. So 1 question answered! Idk about the other ones lol.

  4. Sally says:

    Hmm – I read it as though she did buy enough for the whole class, i.e. the class had 12 or so children in it in total.

  5. Coccinellidae says:

    Maybe I’m misreading something, but I understood it as the dozen kids were the whole class?

    • V4Real says:

      I love how the source says everytime Viv did a move AJ made sure to watch and smile. Um, isn’t that what she was there for?

      • Who ARE these people? says:

        If it was a regular class, a lot of parents look at their phones, read bookd, chat quietly if permitted, stare onto space etc. Regular classes are not a performance. Suspect this quieter, clingier of her twins is getting a little extra encouragement to be more assertive through the study of martial arts. Good fit.

      • Liz says:

        “Watch and smile” at a class? Not a competition?

        My kid is lucky if I’m at the rink when she’s at practice. I watch her games (often through my fingers – she’s a goalie), but practice – nah. I’ve got way too many other things to do and I’m sure AJ is far busier than I am. Most parents I know do not watch classes – most of the time the parents aren’t allowed in the room during a class, they are a disruptive presence, unless it is specifically a parent/child class.

    • amilu says:

      That was my impression, too. It wasn’t that she only brought a dozen cookies for a larger class. She brought cookies for the dozen or so kids.

      “She showed up with… Day of the Dead-decorated cookies from Porto’s Bakery for the dozen or so kids.”

  6. Snowflake says:

    I wish I would run into a celebrity sometime. I would love to see Angelina.

    • WTW says:

      I feel like I could run into her at this point. I think I know which Porto’s she went to. It’s in Glendale, and she shops at the same Target I frequented for years. It’s very weird that a major celeb is hanging out in this part of L.A. and not on the Westside.

    • Kitten says:

      I’ve said it before around here but my friend’s dad ran into AJ in NYC recently and took a quick snap and GOOD LORD she is gorgeous even in candids. It’s not even fair, man.

    • Liz says:

      The kindest thing you can do is just ignore them and let them go about their day, particularly if they are with their family. I live in a part of Manhattan that is heavily populated by celebs. I see them walking their dogs in Central Park or getting coffee at the deli. If they aren’t on a red carpet or doing publicity or on the CelebCam at MSG, they are trying to just go about their life.

      A few weeks ago, my daughter and I were having dinner at a local Italian place. One guy, who everyone recognizes, was sitting at the table next to ours. He was trying to talk to his kids, who were just a little younger than mine. Some jerk came over, introduced himself and his buddy and tried to start a conversation. Celeb was polite, shook hands, etc. The owner had to come over and lead the jerk back to his table so Celeb could eat his dinner in peace. Don’t be that jerk!

    • magnoliarose says:

      Like Liz, I live in a celebrity-heavy part of Manhattan, and in LA it is the same. However, there are times of the year when they are in town in higher numbers. Award shows of course and Fashion Week. But during pilot season in January and February, you see more around. The Hamptons have been on the decline since the early 2000s so you won’t see as many there anymore. A list superstars anyway.
      In LA from West Hollywood to Brentwood, Santa Monica/Venice, Malibu and then Silverlake, Los Feliz, above Sunset, Hollywood Hills if you go to healthy eating, drink spots or markets you may see them.
      They are just people, so I take it with a large grain of salt when someone says a celebrity was unfriendly or brusque. Maybe PMS or a bad phone call or depression or shyness anything can be the reason.
      Most people find them smaller and thinner or ordinary unless they are someone you love then I think it is different. The overdone plastic surgery is very obvious in person. To this day my husband will mention what Meg Ryan looked like when he saw her one day before she fixed her face. He doesn’t make fun, but he was stunned.

  7. Fed Up says:

    That was my impression too. The class had a dozen kids in it and Jolie bought cookies for the whole class.

  8. Aiobhan Targaryen says:

    Maybe my definition of cool mom is different but every time anyone writes that I think of Amy Poehler’s character from Mean Girls, which is something that does not really match up with Angelina at all. If nothing else, this story totally proves that she is campaigning for an award. I don’t hate it at all because the movie was good.

    Also, how close was the person to her who could see that her name was all over the script? Were they right behind her, breathing down her neck? Off to the side. Did they have discreet binoculars or did they use the zoom on their phone? What did she smell like? What was she wearing? I need to know.

    • AngieB says:

      The parent/person watching the student seating area in karate classes are usually small like two rows of plastic chairs so unless she had a special section roped off someone was likely right next to her or behind her.

    • Maya says:

      Don’t mind people campaigning the correct way by attending screenings, q & a sessions, award shows, award dinners etc.

      As long as there are no bribes with money, favours and cupcakes, then by all means – do campaign.

      That’s why I never understood people who attacked Leo D, Ann Hathaway etc.. they campaigned in a moral way like Angelina is doing, and yet people attacks them.

      For people in this industry, awards are the ultimate price. They are allowed to campaign. We all network in our corporate world for the exact same reason. You do it in every job…

  9. Mrs. WelenMelon says:

    I want Angelina Jolie and Jennifer Garner to make a movie together. Goth Mom moves in next door to Sunday School Mom.

  10. Mermaid says:

    I think she seems like a very loving attentive mom. That was a kind gesture for the kids. The only part that surprises me is now at my kids’ school we can’t bring in any store bought items for parties due to food allergies. You have to buy through the school vendor. I’m just wondering how this wasn’t an issue here.

    • Eden75 says:

      It’s probably not a thing since this is not a school function, this is an outside extra curricular activity.

      I am so glad that my kids are mostly done school. For those of us who can’t bake, those days for school were a pain in the a$$. We don’t have anything like school vendors (????WTF????!!!!) here, so I bowed out of baking every time. Maybe the other mom’s didn’t like it, but trust me, my kids were thankful.

    • Who ARE these people? says:

      I did the brownies every frigging time because they were foolproof. Then all I had to attempt was cutting equal portions. I don’t even like brownies all that much.

    • Moon Beam says:

      In my daughter’s preschool and elementary school you had to buy store bought items with the ingredients clearly shown. For extra curricular things like this, parents usually bring in a little treat but find out if there are any allergies first.

      • Liz says:

        Same at my daughter’s school. Everything needed an ingredient list and nothing from a cross-contaminated kitchen (like mine – I have jars of peanut butter in my cabinets). For non-school activities, we always asked about allergies before bringing anything, unless we knew it was completely safe (like a bag of clementines to a hockey game).

    • magnoliarose says:

      A school vendor seems weird and a little shady like someone is getting a kickback.

  11. Adorable says:

    I’m puzzled by “concern of her parenting”🤔..She seems like a hands on mom & her kids obviously adore her..so the “concerned”part is confusing to me…She has always conducted herself appropriately as a parent

    • LadyT says:

      The concern always mentioned is her lack of rules and structure and discipline. Pretty much the extreme opposite of Mommie Dearest. No one has ever questioned her love of the children. Her parenting style is her business (and her past or future partner) not mine.

      • Adorable says:

        That’s a rumor tabloids throw around though,who’s to say she doesn’t have rules in her house hold.Perhaps I’m reading to much into it,but the “concerned”part I find weird..Now if that was Brad(After his admissions etc)I wouldn’t..

      • Carmen says:

        For kids who “lack rules and structure and discipline” they seem to be remarkably well behaved, at least in public.

    • Flipper says:

      Overtime

    • Maya says:

      Lol there has been lots of tweets and even pictures of Angelina attending something with her children over the years.

      Tweets and pictures at football games, karate classes, ballet classes etc.

      She is one of the most famous women in the world and she will be recognised and mentioned in public forums.

      • Jessica says:

        That doesn’t mean it wasn’t PR. Way back in 2010 Brangie was accused of staging photo ops in Venice. I’m not saying that’s the case here but it isn’t impossible.

  12. Jenna says:

    She has been picking some fantastic outfits recently. The yellow dress knocked it out of the ball park (check the horrible DailyMail for a photo).

    Love to start my morning with some Angelina.

  13. ArchieGoodwin says:

    It doesn’t say she only brought a dozen cookies, it says she brought enough for the dozen or so kids.
    “Day of the Dead-decorated cookies from Porto’s Bakery for the dozen or so kids.”

    well, I’ve attended many of these sessions, and if I saw a mom reading and only looking up to see her kid, I’d be like “whatever, just stay home”.

    it’s painful, these kid things. It’s long and the chairs are uncomfortable and it’s crowded and often way too hot, but you sit there and watch the whole thing, your attention on the whole thing, cause that’s what you do. IMO. You don’t work and only look up at your kid- cause the whole idea is your kid is part of the entire class.

    so, no cookies to Jolie from me, for this.

    • Who ARE these people? says:

      Doesn’t it depend whether it was a regular class or a belt ceremony/performance? Really no obligation to watch all during a regular class, or even your own kid…if anything we kept busy so our child didn’t feel the need to play to us but would instead focus on her own mastery. We only sat there because when it was cold outside, it was easier than dropping off and coming back, and sometimes we liked hanging with the other parents.

      • ArchieGoodwin says:

        Doesn’t depend on anything, to me, other than I am there for my kid, to be engaged in what is going on in their life, to show them that their activities are important and worth me spending that time focused on them.
        We’re not talking teenagers here, these are young(er) kids. Who still seek praise and attention from parents, who need that daily.

        The obligation is to your kid, to be there. Sorry, but I think the drop off and pick up, at these ages, is terribly sad for the kid. They look for their parents-I know because I am there watching. So think of that- they look for you..Not to play to you, to show off, but to know they are important.

        not lecturing, but look at it from their perspective and how it feels for them to know you are there, watching and focused.

      • deadnotsleeping says:

        My daughter (who is just a bit younger than the twins) takes 5+ hrs of dance, plus soccer, and is part of a running group. She also has a brother in swim team and running. If it’s a performance, meet or game, I’m actively watching. But if it’s a practice or class, there is nothing wrong with working while I’m waiting or to do a drop off.

        Each kid is different, but my daughter doesn’t like me to watch. It makes her self conscious.

      • Who ARE These People? says:

        My daughter would have been terribly uncomfortable if she felt she was taking karate/swimming/tumbling/playing piano/playing violin with us watching her every move intently. Even when she was little. It was her time, to do her thing, with her people – not us. My husband and I were comfortable and secure, not wanting to raise her dependent on our praise and knowing she needed to be comfortable making mistakes. She also saw that both mom and dad worked, had independent lives outside of her. I know this is a difference in parenting philosophies and I don’t fault others for having their own, but we never felt obligated to live and breathe for our child, but rather to help her to live and breathe on her own. We were 100% there for her. We signed her up, paid, got her there, showed quite a bit of interest BEFORE AND AFTER her independent time, went to every single concert and recital and grading ceremony and swim meet and were there with focus and enthusiasm.
        Those were the OUTCOME of her process, her work with others. But clapping for every little learning moment during class? Nah. She still got the coach’s award, too. Now that she’s older, she has a good work ethic, knows how to work with – and manage – a team, gets along with most faculty and can advocate for herself, and appreciates that we always had our own interests and social life. She doesn’t worry about us getting on with our lives as empty-nesters. We are separate people. I think there was a shift in generations in philosophy, because mothers 10 years younger than me felt more pressure to hang on every word. My mother felt that she did even less for us than she saw us doing, and she was a pretty good mother.

    • Who ARE these people? says:

      And I agree that if it’s a group performance, you watch the whole thing and applaud every kid. This was described as a class.

      • ArchieGoodwin says:

        Then again, maybe we are the weird parents. We go to every class with our son, and did for our daughter, both of us made the time to go and watch. At these ages, we did that, every week or whatever.
        So we are a part of it, with him, not sending him off.

        again, these ages and younger, not teenagers who like the independence (yet still, want and need and crave the attention and knowledge they are important)

      • M4lificent says:

        My son is 10 and has swim team practices three times a week, for 2 1/2 hours at a pop. I trade off driving with another parent. When I’m driving, I often run errands while they are at practice, or bring my laptop and do work. I always come back a little early to see the end of practice — and my son isn’t the slightest bit upset that I’m not there the whole time. I’m there for every meet and important event. If there is an issue that my son can’t handle on his own, I’ll talk to the coaches. We talk at length in the car about how training went, and I often take the boys for a treat afterwards.

        My son is an only child — I’m one of five kids. It was all my mom could do to make to everyone’s school plays. We didn’t have swimming, soccer, or any extra-curricular activities when I was my son’s age because my family couldn’t afford that for five kids.

        I am very close with my mom, as my son is with me. You don’t have to treat your kid like a special snowflake every minute of the day for them to know that they are loved and supported.

      • Who ARE These People? says:

        M4lificent, you are busy! We were swim parents too.

        The situation in which I was least comfortable was gymnastics, because that particular studio had a parent area with a very large window for looking out onto the tumbling floor below. People just seemed to get a little too obsessive about watching their kids’ – generally girls’ – every move.

        I can’t imagine trying to learn a new skill while being aware of being watched by anyone other than my coach or instructor.

        The performance or competition was entirely different. We enjoyed those, and so did my daughter, but she enjoyed it not for performing for us or trying to please us – she enjoyed demonstrating her mastery, working alongside her teammates, and trying to win. : )

      • Liz says:

        M4lificent – I agree with you completely! My daughter plays ice hockey. Practices are three nights a week, anywhere from 90 minutes to 3 hours. Parents are allowed at the rink, but not in the gym or the video review sessions. I drop her off and do my thing; I’m there to pick her up when she’s finished. If I sat there through the entire practice, I’d never have time to finish my work. I do my best to make it to every game she has, even if it means driving to DC for the weekend.

    • tracking says:

      Okay, judgy Mcjudgerson. Sometimes parents have other stuff they need to do, too. Multitasking is perfectly normal and acceptable, especially by working parents who usually take time off from work to shuttle kids to these activities but still have work that needs to get done.

    • Savasana Lotus says:

      we all get to have our opinions and mine differs from yours. Thank you for being with me mom. Thank you for being there and making me a priority. Growing up my parents were completely checked out. It created enormous problems for me as a young adult. Presence gets 100 points from me.

      • Who ARE These People? says:

        Isn’t there a big difference between being “completely checked out” and being 100% hanging on everything a child does? Most parents do strive for a middle ground – being there, enabling activities, supporting schoolwork, and giving an encouraging nod and smile every now and then. It doesn’t mean parents are required to live through their children. Children should need less and less of that as they grow older, too. At some point, they call it smothering.

    • Erinn says:

      I don’t know. I was a 4-H kid. There were a lot of meetings that having parents present for was just a distraction. My mom was involved in the club as well – so she often was doing other things like helping to organize stuff, or discussing things with other organizers. A lot of the time I didn’t want my mom around because I wanted to go and have fun with the other kids – and BE a kid. With mom there I’d get the constant “Hey, you have a cold – I don’t want you running around outside before/after the meeting” and stuff like that. Which – is somewhat normal (I was a kid who had some asthma and allergies and lots of tonsilitis), though a little over protective. When she was busy I could have more fun a lot of the time.

      I did want her there for when I was showing or competing – it was always handy to have someone to help you get ready and stuff like that – and if you’re having a bad day, always nice to have someone who loves you present.

      My husband played hockey from around 8-17 or so. His mom would always go to everything – and he did find it overbearing at times even when he was on the young end of that. You need a balance of support and distance. Even younger kids need some room to stretch their legs away from their parents.

    • Moon Beam says:

      I definitely do not pay attention that much when my kid is on the bench during a soccer game or not performing at dance practice. I usually talk to other parents and sometimes read.

  14. Justwastingtime says:

    She lives in LA. People frequently celebrate Halloween using the day if the dead images… it’s really not note worthy in the slightest. Move on.

  15. sunnydeereynolds says:

    So, a mother can’t bring treats to her child’s class without an agenda? I wonder what my cousin is campaigning for cause she loves to bring cupcakes once in a while to my niece taekwondo class.

    • Curious says:

      Jolie is a celebrity and this time she does it publicly. One may ask if it is a pr move because of the public aspect.

  16. truth hurts says:

    So going to your kids karate class is PR for an Oscar campaign. Are the kids or the parents there voting? lo,l I can see why she bought the cookies. Good bribe Angie. I really do believe some of you are a little weird and have the audacity to call her weird.
    If she scanned a script for a minute or hell 15 minutes that makes her a bad mom, ok Got it.
    She has an awful lot on her plate with little help from daddy since he was filming so give the woman a god da## break. It could not be me because I would go off on some people.
    Everything she does has an agenda. Everything, even doing things with her kids. She lives in a pap infested town of course they will follow her. They sit outside her home. Wtf do you expect her to do?

    • Kitten says:

      Oh come on. If this was ANY other celeb you’d rightfully call it what it is: PR.

      It’s fine, all celebs do it, it doesn’t make her a bad mother and it doesn’t mean the kids are traumatized by it but let’s not delude ourselves here.

    • Curious says:

      My guess is that it was pr.
      Surely this wasn’t the first time Jolie brought some treats to one of her childrens’ classes? This time she did it publicly. So likely she wanted to get papped doing it.

  17. B n A fn says:

    I’m a big Brad and Angelina’s fan but I can’t follow them as much as I used to. Now a days I’m much more focused on what’s going on with the dotard and how he’s selling out the country for personal profit. Yesterday dotard jr was caught in another lie corresponding with the enemy.

    Reguarding Angelina bringing cookies for Viv’s Class, sometimes some parents have restrictions on what their kids can eat in school. It’s possible she brought enough for those who gave permission to give their kids snacks. Btw, about a week ago a preschooler passed away after eating a cheese sandwich in school, he had an allergy to dairy products and someone made a big mistake. The parents said the school was informed his is allergic to dairy product and staff did not follow orders.

  18. LittlefishMom says:

    Cool! I’ve done it. Love it!

  19. Savasana Lotus says:

    Jeez. Why is this a thing? My sisters birthday is in October so she got the $9 papyrus sugar skull card so she could also hang it on her door for Halloween. She was tickled pink cuz the thing is a work of art. Second, I just bought my sisters sugar skull Christmas ornaments by Betsy Johnson. I buy a new ornament for each of us every year. Our trees are the envy of many. Sugar skulls will add so much color!!

    • Curious says:

      Jolie is on a little crusade to repair her image. That Pitt mess didn’t go down well with many people.

      • Carmen says:

        It went down fine with me. She looks like a ten-ton weight rolled off her since she unloaded him. As someone who similarly unloaded an ex with a drinking problem, I can relate.

      • Lady D says:

        I think many people were perturbed to find out just what kind of mess Pitt was.

  20. norahb says:

    I’m more shocked to nutrition police haven’t been screaming about her bringing sweets to the class.

  21. Mara says:

    There’s not a lot you can get from paparazzi photos to be honest. I don’t think we’ll ever really know if her children had a good childhood unless one or more of them speak publicly about it when they are adults.

  22. buckley says:

    Not much to add, only that Porto’s is awesome.

  23. Lori says:

    Wow. Its amazing how much drama is in these comments over a celeb and some cookies.

  24. Tumtum says:

    Used to love her. Now I feel she’s an anorexic controller. Seems like the kids live in dysfunction, without any rules.