10+ Celebrities With Controversial Parenting Methods

Sarah Kester

With so many ways to go about it, parenting has always been a touchy subject.

While some believe in letting their kids cry, some people do not. And while some parents are all for vaccinations, some are 100 percent against it.

This has led to a lot of controversy in the parenting world — especially amongst celebs. Here are 10+ celebrities with controversial parenting methods.

There are a ton of different kinds of parenting, and parenting styles out there in the world.

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But celebrities' parenting styles have definitely made headlines more than once because 1) they're celebrities and 2) some can be against the norm we are used to!

Keep in mind, we aren't judging any of these celebrities for how they choose to parent! We are just pointing out that they have definitely made headlines because of their parenting methods!

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But at the end of the day, everyone needs to do what works best for their family.

1. Kristen Bell And Dax Shepard

The pair are the very definition of #couplegoals, but some fans have questioned whether they're #ParentGoals, too.

That's because Bell revealed to Parents that they lock their kids, Lincoln and Delta, inside their bedrooms at night.

"My 3-year-old decided to stop sleeping about nine months ago," Bell said.

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Since she said that her youngest would turn the lights on, annoy her sister, make loud noises, and move the furniture around, the couple decided to lock her in.

"We switched the doorknob. We turned the lock on the outside."

2. Kim Kardashian and Kanye West

For a while, the couple allowed their eldest daughter, North, to experiment with makeup.

This caused a whole slew of controversy from those who said that she was too young. Once Kanye became a Christian, he agreed with the naysayers.

This had led him to ban North from wearing makeup or crop tops until she's a teenanger.

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"I don't think North should wear crop tops just because I had her wearing a slip dress when she was [two years old]," Kanye said during an interview with Zane Lowe for Beats 1.

3. Mila Kunis and Ashton Kutcher

Since both these parents come from humble beginnings, they're firm on not raising spoiled children.

Unfortunately for their children, this means no trust fund and no Christmas gifts.

Getting their relatives on board was a bit tough.

In the end, the parents told them to make a charitable donation instead.

"That's our new tradition," Mila said on The Kyle and Jackie O Show.

4. Amanda Stanton

The Bachelor alum has a knack for stirring up controversy on Instagram with pictures of her kid — or rather, selfies of her kids.

When Amanda posted this bikini shot of her young daughter, followers criticized the post for being inappropriate.

5. Jada Pinkett Smith and Will Smith

In order to ensure their kids tell them everything, the couple came up with this unorthodox approach: the circle of safety.

"They're allowed to tell us everything that they did [in the circle of safety], and they can't get in trouble," Smith told Jimmy Fallon in 2016.

But there are some hard and fast rules to this.

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"The rule is, if we find out after the circle of safety that there was something you didn't say, there was [a price] to pay."

With this rule in place, some people say that it gives children no privacy.

6. Angelina Jolie

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With six kids, rules are what keep Angelina Jolie's head afloat.

One of these controversial rules is rejecting the notions of regular education. "Instead of tomfoolery in the classroom, I'd rather them go to a museum and learn to play guitar and read and pick a book they love,” she told The Daily Mail.

In addition to skipping school, she wants them to focus on street smarts instead of book smarts.

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"We travel, and I'm the first person to say, ‘Get the school work done as quickly as possible because let's go out and explore,'" she said.

7. Pamela Anderson

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The Baywatch star's parenting method is non-existent: She raised her sons with no rules!

“We want them to... drink and experiment with drugs in moderation, find true love," she wrote in a blog post on her website titled "Intuitive Parenting."

8. Gisele Bündchen and Tom Brady

The gorgeous couple were able to potty train their son Benjamin in just five months by forgoing diapers entirely.

How they did it was by having the baby naked all day and then Gisele holding him over the toilet when it was time for him to go.

9. Candace Cameron Bure

The Fuller House star may love being a mom, but at the end of the day, she's still a woman who has needs.

This is why she's perfectly fine getting freaky with her husband, even when the kids are home.

10. Nikki Reed and Ian Somerhalder

When the couple had their first child together, they underwent a month of silence in order to bond as a new family.

"Just the three of us, no visitors, and we’re turning off our phones too, so there’s no expectation for us to communicate," Reed told Parents.

11. Alicia Silverstone

The Clueless actress may have gone vegan at the age of 21, but her son, Bear, started much, much younger at the age of eight!

Despite criticism, she credited veganism for his good behavior. “I’ve never had to raise my voice to Bear,” she told Us Weekly.

12. Keira Knightley

As a proud feminist, the Atonement actress is trying to teach her two daughters, Delilah and Edie, all about female empowerment.

Part of this meant banning fairytale movies since she believes that they don't set a good example for children.

This included *Sleeping Beauty*, *Cinderella*, and *The Little Mermaid*.

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But in the end, much to her dismay, her daughters watched all three.

The only upside to this was her daughter's "woke" reaction. “When we watched Sleeping Beauty, she said, ‘It’s not okay that man kissed her without her permission!’" she recalled to Porter magazine.

13. Mayim Bialik

The Big Bang Theory star had people questioning her parenting methods when she revealed that she breastfed her son until he was four.

Since she follows an attachment style of parenting, she believes that breastfeeding is a super mother-infant bonding moment.

14. Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds

They are very careful on how they use gender roles and pronouns.

"My husband was like, 'Why do I always say he?' And I said, 'That’s what we’re taught.' So he’ll pick up, like a caterpillar, and instead of saying, 'What’s his name?' he’ll say, 'What’s her name?' Or we’ve joked that my daughter is bossy," Lively told Glamour.

"But my husband said, 'I don’t ever want to use that word again. You’ve never heard a man called bossy.'”

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"There would never be any negative connotation for a man being a boss, so to add a negative connotation on a woman being bossy? It’s belittling. And it doesn’t encourage them to be a boss," Lively pointed out.

15. Gwyneth Paltrow

Paltrow has some TV restrictions for her children, which, to be honest, is not unheard of.

They have a certain amount of hours they can watch, and some programs were even banned. They also have to watch programs in different languages!

16. Alanis Morissette

Morissette actually lets her children decide when they want to stop breastfeeding.

There were a lot of people who thought this was strange, but hey, it definitely is not our place to judge how she parents her children!

17. Megan Fox

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Fox definitely doesn't have time for gender roles!

She has no problem with her son wearing dresses. She is more interested in him growing up to be a well-adjusted adult. And that's what counts.

18. Kate Hudson

Kate Hudson doesn't have time for gender-fueled upbringings!

"I think you just raise your kids individually regardless — like a genderless [approach]. We still don’t know what she’s going to identify as," Hudson said in an interview with AOL.

"I will say that, right now, she is incredibly feminine in her energy, her sounds and her way. It’s very different from the boys, and it’s really fun to actually want to buy kids’ clothes."

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"That’s my big word: Freedom and feeling liberated. That is, to me, where contentment and happiness lie."

19. Sarah Jessica Parker and Matthew Broderick

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She is very adamant that her children pine and yearn for things. Sometimes, she doesn't even give them what they want for a long time, since she wants to teach them how to earn things!

Makes sense to me, tbh.

What do you think of these controversial parenting methods?

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Would you use any of these methods, or are they not really your style?

Either way, let us know down below in the comment section! We would love to hear from you!