Welcome to So Mini Ways Yahoo Life ‘s __parenting series on the joysand challenges of child-rearing.
As a mom of two children, Sarah Michelle Gellar runs a tight ship.
the Do Revenge star, 45, says she and husband Freddie Prinze Jr. don’t allowtheir children, 13-year-old Charlotte and 10-year-old Rocky, to have their ownsocial media accounts.
“Our rules are probably stricter than most. Our kids don’t have social media,”Gellar tells Yahoo Life’s So Mini Ways. “They’re allowed to look sometimeswhen it’s our phones. Sometimes, our kids will be like ‘you guys are thestrictest household!’ But I say, ‘yes, but everyone still wants to comehere!'”
To emphasize the permanence of what’s posted on social media, Gellar told herkids that it’s the equivalent of getting a Paw Patrol tattoo on your face atage 5.
“Because at that age, there’s nothing better than Paw Patrol. And now you’re10 and [13]and you still have these tattoos on your face and it’s not even whoyou are anymore,” explains Gellar, who rose to stardom on All My Children_and _Buffy the Vampire Slayer. “That’s a very hard concept for young kids tograsp.”
Still, she has no qualms about enforcing the rules with her busy family.
“I believe kids need to know what their limitations are, and they actuallythrive in that environment. We’re not mean, we’re not unnecessarily strict,but we have rules,” the actress says. “And the same way I abide by my code ofrules, I expect the same from our children.”
Another area where Gellar stays in control is with her family’s health. Thisflu season, Gellar is teaming up with Rite Aid and encouraging families to getthe flu shot. Gellar herself showed off her #FluFlex, a fun way for people toget their flu shot and post with pride that they’ve done their part to fightthe flu. It’s a spin on the “vaxxie,” the social media trend that emerged whenthe COVID-19 pandemic began.
“ It’s not hard to suggest that people get the flu shot,” she says.”Everybody now knows that the flu shot is the most effective way to preventthe flu. I think we’re beyond the point of the flu shot being actuallycontroversial.”
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Of course, the Cruel Intentions star recognizes that some people will debateher on the topic.
“At the end of the day, the internet is a rabbit hole, and if I want to godown a rabbit hole and find out if the sky is purple, I’m sure I could find aplace where the sky is purple,” she notes. “The flu shot really is a no-brainer for our family. As a parent, it’s my job to keep our family safe. Andto keep our grandparents safe, our extended family safe — and the best way Ican do that is to get my kids vaccinated against the flu.”
One reason Gellar is so conscientious is the fact that her whole family hasasthma.
“I’ve been asthmatic since I was a child, and my husband has mild asthma, aswell. Our daughter has it mild, but our son has fairly severe asthma. Thanksto medical professionals, it’s something we keep really under control,” saysGellar, who added that the family recently got “walloped pretty hard” withCOVID. “But the flu becomes much more serious for us, because it’s harder forour lungs to fight that illness. We get sicker.”
Gellar and Prinze celebrated an exciting milestone back in September: their20th wedding anniversary. On the anniversary, Gellar called out Howard Sternfor comments the radio icon made over two decades ago, in which he bet Prinzethat his marriage wouldn’t last 10 years. In an Instagram Story, Gellarreminded Stern of the bet and wrote, “I think you owe us.”
But Gellar says she hasn’t heard a peep from Stern.
“I’ve heard nothing. The ball is in his court,” she says. “It just made melaugh.”
As a parent and spouse, Gellar isn’t one for regrets.
“I don’t think you can actually look back and say, ‘I wish there were things Iknew.’ Life was different, and you’re a different person at different ages,”she says. “I think the most important thing is to try to grow together andcommunicate, and put the work in. That goes for relationships, friendships,parenting. It’s work. You have to be willing to do that.”
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