FRANCOIS GUILLOT/AFP/Getty Images
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Parenting
Celeb Mamas
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Entertainment
iVillage 5
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Parenting
Celeb Moms
Calling Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt Mommy and Daddy has its perks, but when it comes to hearing their parents talk about sex, the Jolie-Pitt brood has the same reaction as kids everywhere: Blech!! Yet their six children are often informed when their parents need some "alone time."
Why? Because Pitt recently revealed the family operates in a zone of openness. "There are no secrets at our house," Pitt told USA Weekend. "We tell the kids, 'Mom and Dad are going off to kiss.' They go, 'Eww, gross!' But we demand it."
Yet we had to wonder, is having a completely uninhibited parenting policy really such a good thing? For guidance, we turned to Dr. Cora Breuner, a pediatrician at Seattle Children’s Hospital and professor at the University of Washington School of Medicine.
"The concept of no secrets is really great, but there’s a difference between a secret and a descriptive blow-by-blow," says Breuner. In general, she applauds Brangie’s open and truthful parenting style, but says it’s important to keep descriptions appropriate for a child’s developmental and cognitive stage. In other words, it’s okay to tell a toddler that parents are going to kiss, but save the birds and bees specifics until they hit double digits.
Breuner adds that a no secrets policy can also be good because it encourages kids to share what’s bothering them -- something as simple as a problem at school to as serious as a sexual predator -- as long as parents respond appropriately.
"If you want your kids to tell you the truth you have to couch your response," says Breuner. "If you get seriously mad at your five-year-old for swiping a pack of gum from the grocery store, they might not tell you anything anymore."
Also, Breuner adds that it’s okay to keep a few things cagey, such as the truth behind Santa and the Tooth Fairy. "There’s so much wonder and joy with a myth like that. It’s important for kids to have hope and believe in something they can’t understand."
In other words, it might be tantalizing for most of us to think of the World’s Sexiest Couple getting down to business, but it’s okay for them to keep things vague with the kids — without violating their family policy, of course.
