Photo: Jessica Alba/Instagram
Jessica Albais all about striving for open communication with her kids.
InGlamour UK’s July/August digital issue, the actress, 41, speaks candidly in her cover interview about going to therapy with both of her daughters,Honor, 14, andHaven, 10, and the positive impact it has on her relationship with her girls.
Alba, who shares her daughters as well as 4-year-old sonHayeswith husband Cash Warren, has previously discussedgoing to therapy with Honorbut reveals for the first time that Haven is now part of their sessions.
“I went with both of them. And around puberty is when it’s the time I think, for me, with my girls,” she explains. “That’s when they started to sort of shut down and get really like, ‘I don’t want to talk any more.’ And I’m like, ‘We’re not doing this. We’ve got to keep a line of communication here. How can I be a better parent to you? How do you want me to talk to you? Don’t shut me out.’ "
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The Honest Company founder says that their therapist is able to be “really objective” and help to “create a safe space for your kid to really candidly tell you what’s not working about your parenting.”
“I was like, ‘Look, I’m not perfect. I’m not going to know all the answers, but I want to be a great parent to you. And what you like and don’t is different from what your sister likes and doesn’t like. And I’m going to make mistakes,’ " she recalls telling her girls.
“‘Here’s a safe space, you can’t get in trouble – let me know what I’m doing wrong, or what you would like me to do differently. Or how do you want me to discipline you when you do screw up? What does that look like for you? And how would you want to be treated so you can still feel like you have your dignity intact?’ "
Honor “felt empowered to find her voice” in therapy, said Alba, adding that her child was able to “speak her voice and own her opinions in a way and really gain confidence to say, ‘Hey, Mom, I like this, I don’t like this.’ "
In aninterviewwith PEOPLE last year, Alba explained that while she appreciates the benefits of therapy with Honor, she also handles harder conversations as they come up.
“I think every lesson is really a moment for reflection. I don’t avoid conversation,” the mom of three said. “I think it’s all just how can we have a better understanding of each other.”
“Just having compassion and empathy around someone else is reality, right?” Alba continued. “And being able to have context and see either lens, I think that’s something that you could always work on as a person.”
source: people.com
