“Frozen” star Kristen Bell admitted that there’s “no topic” off limits when it comes to talking to the 8- and 9-year-old children she shares with husband Dax Shepard, including drugs and sex.
In a cover story for Real Simple, the 42-year-old actress said that she hates the idea of a “taboo” word and said she speaks to their daughters, Delta and Lincoln, about everything — including the fact that their father is a recovering addict.
“I think it should be stricken from the dictionary,” Bell shared of the word “taboo.” “There should be no topic that’s off the table for people to talk about.”
The Disney star said she knows her parenting decision might be “shocking” to some people, but said it’s what is best for her family.
“I talk to my kids about drugs, and the fact that their daddy is an addict and he’s in recovery, and we talk about sex,” Bell shared.
“There are all these ‘hard topics’ that don’t have to be if you give the person on the other end your vulnerability and a little bit of credit,” she added.
Kristen Bell wants to make sure her children are comfortable talking to her and husband Dax Shepard about anything and everything. https://t.co/iAIdRzIwhc
— VANITY FAIR (@VanityFair) February 9, 2023
The “Bad Moms” star said one of the most important things she’s taught her kids is “making amends and apologizing” because “humans leave carnage wherever they go.”
“I really respect when someone does something wrong or hurtful and they apologize,” the actress shared. “I’m like, ‘Yeah, right on.’ That’s important. If there’s one thing I want to teach my kids, it’s how to make amends—and that it’s for themselves, so they can like who’s in the mirror a little bit more.”
Bell previously talked about how talking about the drugs she’s done with her kids “backfired” on her when she overheard her daughter talking to her own “more conservative” mom about what she had shared.
“I overheard my daughter talking to my mom, to [her] grandma, going, ‘I’m actually really glad they share all this stuff with me. Anyway, mom really wanted to try [hallucinogenic] mushrooms,'” the Hollywood star shared during her appearance on Jimmy Kimmel.
Bell and Shepard tied the knot in 2013. Dax previously shared that he had relapsed in 2020 after a motorcycle accident, after being sober for 16 years, the outlet noted.