Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt: Best Parenting Tips

Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt's Parenting Style: 19 Tips to Try With Your Own Brood

'Parenting gurus' may not be the first thing you think of when Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt come to mind, but there's a lot we can learn from how the couple parents their kids (20 Photos)

Kathy Ehrich Dowd on Feb 7, 2013 at 11:49AM

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19 Smart Parenting Lessons from the Jolie-Pitts

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a Kathy Ehrich Dowd on Jan 25, 2013 at 4:26PM

Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt are definitely not your average parents, but their passion for their six kids -- three biological and three adopted between the ages of 11 and 4 -- is pretty obvious. Sure, it helps to have a troop of nannies and millions of dollars at their disposal, but their common-sense approach to parenting is something we all can learn from. Here, 19 smart parenting lessons from the Jolie-Pitts.

Make Family Dinner a Priority
They may own several homes around the globe, but wherever they are when dinnertime roles around, the Jolie-Pitts sits down together. "We actually have dinner every night. We make a point of it," Angelina told Anderson Cooper in 2011. "It's crazy. There's a good five minutes where everyone is quiet and sitting together and then it starts to break off." She said dinnertime rules include no video games at the table and Mom and Dad must turn off their phones.

What the experts say: "This time together can really help kids learn to communicate and rely on each other," says Dr. Cora Breuner, a pediatrician at Seattle Children's Hospital and professor at the University of Washington School of Medicine. "Engage the kids in conversation and ask questions like, 'What were the best and worst parts of your day?' to get more than one-word answers."