Cameron Diaz has spoken candidly about the frustrations of parenting, which she admitted sometimes results in her losing “her s***”.
The actor and mother of two-year-old Raddix said that although becoming a mother is “the best thing I’ve ever done in my life”, it can be “challenging” sometimes.
Diaz, 50, who shares her daughter with husband Benji Madden, told The Kelly Clarkson Show that she tries to go through her “mum checklist” to understand what her toddler might be feeling.
She listed all the possible reasons for a tantrum, such as hunger or tiredness, adding: “You just kind of start there and you go, ‘What just happened? Is there something she’s trying to communicate with me?’”
The Bad Teacher actor told host Kelly Clarkson: “I feel like as a parent, my job is to help her find the words to her emotions, her experience, what she’s going through and be able to help her identify that and move through it.”
However, there are times when being unable to find out exactly what her child needs leads to Diaz getting frustrated.
She added that, in moments like that, it is “imperative” to acknowledge her child’s feelings and “repair” the relationship.
“If you do blow up, just to repair that and say, ‘Oh my god, mummy lost her s***’ and ‘I didn’t mean to say that to you. If I hurt your feelings or if I upset you, I just want you to know that mummy’s human too’.”
Clarkson, who has an eight-year-old son, Remington Alexander, and a seven-year-old daughter, River Rose, agreed with Diaz and added: “I’m not afraid to say, ‘Mummy messed up, I should have handled it this way’.”
In a previous interview on RuPaul’s Drag Race judge Michelle Visage’s podcast, Diaz said that becoming a first-time mother at the age of 47 changed the way she perceived Hollywood beauty standards.
“It’s hard not to look at yourself and judge yourself against other markers of beauty,” she told the podcast, Rule Breakers, in March.
“You’re like, ‘Why am I sitting here being so mean to myself?’ My body’s strong, my body’s capable. Why am I going to talk down to it?” she added.
