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Busy Philipps Reveals How She’s Empowering Her 2 Daughters to Be Confident: ‘Practice What I Preach’
Raising two daughters in the Hollywood spotlight may be difficult, but Busy Philipps is doing everything in her power to make sure 11-year-old Birdie and 6-year-old Cricket grow up to be confident young ladies.
“The one way to help empower my kids to just be who they want to be and say the things that they want to say and believe in the things that they want to believe in, is that I have to live that as well,” the Busy Tonight star, 40, exclusively shares with Closer Weekly, noting she makes sure to “practice what I preach” in a world filled with unrealistic societal expectations.
The beloved actress and TV host — who shares her little girls with husband Marc Silverstein — tells Closer that in order to instill confidence and strength in her daughters, she needs to embody it herself. “You can tell kids all the lessons that you want them to learn, but children learn and become who they are by watching you,” she insists. “So, if Mark and I aren’t living the things that we’re preaching to them, then it doesn’t matter, they will become another thing.”
Busy adds that in order for Birdie and Cricket to feel beautiful in their own skin, she and Marc, 48, have completely erased any conversation surrounding body image and societal expectations. “It’s very important in terms because they are young women … in terms of value put on bodies or traditional or whatever would be considered being beautiful,” she urges. “All those things.”
“We really try to eliminate discussions. I mean we do, we just have,” continues Busy — who recently teamed up with Poise brand to discuss stigmas that women face every day. “My husband and I have been really successful in eliminating talking about other women in that way. We just don’t talk about the way people look. Beyond that, I’ve always participated with my kids.”
The Cougar Town alum echoes her sweet sentiment as she recalls a story from one of Birdie’s previous birthday parties. Busy says that although she felt “insecure” about squeezing into a bikini for her daughter’s pool party at the time, she didn’t want Birdie to witness the apprehensive moment. She adds she “just wanted to be able to be there, be her mom, be a person.”
“Your kids just think you’re perfect. They don’t see anything you see, they do once they get to a certain age,” she jokes. “But, when they’re little, they don’t — so it’s really important to be constantly aware of the things that you’re saying and the way that you’re living your life.”
A huge part of instilling confidence in her girls is making sure they express themselves in any way they want. Despite getting backlash on social media, the Dawson’s Creek alum dishes how she fends off the hate she gets regarding decisions she makes for her kids and family.
“People are very involved with what other people are doing whether you’re a celebrity or not. That is one thing where I think we can make some real changes in terms of judgment on the way others choose to live their lives,” she states. “I really try to, for myself personally, have tried to let go of any judgment towards others and the way they are living their lives and the choices they’re making for themselves and their families. And I would just hope that the same feeling would be extended towards me.”
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