Angelina Jolie is very close to her children. They all seem to adore their mom. Considering all but the twins (Vivienne and Knox) are teenagers, that’s quite a feat. Teenagers are angsty and moody by nature. Maybe the Jolie-Pitt kids are angsty and authority-defying too, but in public, they just seem like happy, well-adjusted kids who have a great relationship with their mom. Whatever happened on that plane in 2016 was a wake-up call and Angelina got them therapy and she took time off work to make sure everyone was okay. Maleficent: Mistress of Evil covers the subjects of motherhood, growing up and leaving the nest. So of course Angelina got some questions about how she is handling motherhood these days. Some quotes:
Raising her children well: “I feel I like being an artist [is important] of course, but I’d like the other aspects of my work to take over my life a little bit more in the years ahead. Really I just want to raise my children well, they’re all at those very special ages where you don’t want to miss a moment and just get it right before they’re out in the world on their own and having to face it. You hope you get all the good stuff in, so that’s my main focus. But I have some other crazy ideas for future things, let’s see what happens.”
What she learned from Maleficent: “’That [parenthood is] not easy, that even Maleficent can have trouble and worry whether she’s a good enough mum. I think what it means to be a mum and I think in her mind she has this idea, I did before I had kids, that to be a perfect mother we have to be a perfect person. that’s not true. You just have to do your best and be willing to put your child before you, and I think she has that. So she loves being a mum, I love being a mum.’
[From Marie Claire UK & The Daily Mail]
“I think in her mind she has this idea, I did before I had kids, that to be a perfect mother we have to be a perfect person. that’s not true.” This is true. Not that I know from experience – I’m not a mother – but from what I’ve seen, there is never a perfect mother, because there is no perfect person. Everybody is just making it up and trying to figure it out as they go along. It’s so weird to think about Jolie raising her kids in LA, the same city where hyper-competitive mothering led to federal indictments, right? Angelina would never, because she doesn’t need to compete through her children, nor does she have any desire to have them leave the nest completely unprepared. The Jolie-Pitt children turning out to be well-adjusted, nice kids wasn’t what was predicted for this brood.
Photos courtesy of WENN, Backgrid.
That’s true! Real mothers aren’t perfect because perfect mothers don’t exist.
I think the most important thing is to always keep in mind that as adults we can control our emotions compared to children but when we stumble to be honest and humble enough to ask for their forgiveness.
Yesterday was such a trying day as my 3 year old son kept refusing his antibiotics so I had to resort to giving it to him via oral syringe just so he can have it in his system. At one point, I told him that I needed to stay silent for a bit as I was losing my patience. He nodded and went off to play for a bit and then came back and started talking to me about something but because I was still trying to calm myself down, I just looked at him then he said “mummy, please talk to me!” which broke my heart and I apologised for losing my temper with him.
Good for you- asking for the space you needed, though. I need significantly more quiet than is the norm in a household with an energetic boy in it. I regularly tell my son that I need a few minutes of quiet and enforce occasional quiet times for our family. He’s used to it and knows that I still love and adore him, he just needs to stop mindlessly speaking whatever thoughts enter his head for a while.
We all need space to power down on occasion.
It’s funny when you look back at all the Angelina haters back in the day who used to talk crap about the Jolie-Pitt children. Alleging they were brats and that they were out of control or being raised by nannies. And yet every person who has ACTUALLY encountered or met them has said how kind and mannered they are. None of the kids want to be actors. Maddox is in college. Zahara is doing jewelry collabs that benefits a battered women’s charity. They all seem to be happy, well-adjusted kids and considering everything that went down in 2016 that is a true testament to Angelina as a mother.
+1. Some still try this with them in gross ways.
Wow i didn’t know that about Zahara.
That is awesome .
All her kids are gorgeous,but Z has that special something.
I love her dress here too.
I’m not surprised they are turning out to be well adjusted, nice kids. The fact that Angelina was so invested in adopting the least privileged children and doing charity and diplomatic work showed she has great compassion and empathy, which in my opinion are the foundations of being a good parent. I think the celebrity kids who grow up insulated in rich bubbles in LA probably have a greater likelihood of being more self-centered aholes.
“compassion and empathy, which in my opinion are the foundations of being a good parent.”
+1
Her children’s smiles are all the proof needed to show Angelina is a good mother.
I love that she said , we as mothers, don´t have to be perfect to raise a child well. Thank you, it really helped me today.
The “good enough mother” of Winnicott! That theory has saved my life on bad days. Come through, Angelina Jolie!
Also, her kids are kind and seemingly well-adjusted (in addition to gorgeous, fashionable, unique, and charitable individuals.) They are loved and they know they are loved. As a former wild child, I relate to Angelina Jolie’s investment in her family–she seems to have had a mother who she loved immeasurably, even though her father was messy, and honestly, learning to be a good enough parent is possible even for those of us who had difficult childhoods to overcome, as long as unconditional love came from someone.
Rooting for this family. Privilege aside, I think they have all had difficulties to overcome, and I want them to be happy.
It also wasn’t predicted that their father would be a deabeat. As an angie fan I’m sad for her because of that. I’m happy she’s free and can live her life the way she wants without deadbeat pit controlling her but at the same time the kids don’t have a dad.
But maybe it’s best that way.