Kristen Bell and Dax Shepard are about as close to “open books” as celebrities get. Though the pair’s daughters, nine-year-old Lincoln and eight-year-old Delta, live with strict, no-visibilities policies towards the media, Bell and Shepard often talk about their parenting strategies.
The most prominent strategy they use? “Nothing is off the table.”
“I know it’s shocking, but I talk to my kids about drugs, and the fact that their daddy is an addict and he’s in recovery,” Bell told Real Simple Magazine, as she posed for their first ever celebrity cover. “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.”
Shepard has been extremely candid about his addiction issues, especially following a relapse in 2020, which interrupted 16 years of sobriety. Shepard began purchasing painkillers, following a broken hand from a motorcycle accident. He has since regained sobriety.
Still, Shepard was honest with his children about the lapse. “They knew when I relapsed,” he said. “We explained, ‘Well, Daddy was on these pills for his surgery and then Daddy was a bad boy and he started getting his own pills.’ “
Bell has also commented about how they portray Shepard’s struggles to their children. “My husband has been very open and honest about his recovery. (The girls) know what alcoholism is, they know what different kinds of drugs are and they know why some are illegal and why some aren’t, and they know exactly what happens in an AA meeting. They know the twelve steps.”
Bell, who herself has depression and anxiety, explained to her children why she takes regular medication, by saying, “I described the pill that I take at night when they saw me take it as broccoli for my brain. I felt like that was a decent comparison. ‘This is what keeps my brain healthy. Not everybody needs this.'”
Sources:
https://people.com/parents/kristen-bell-daughters-know-daddy-addict-nothing-off-the-table/
https://www.realsimple.com/game-changer-kristen-bell-6831492
https://people.com/parents/dax-shepard-told-daughters-about-his-relapse/
https://www.today.com/parents/moms/kristen-bell-mental-health-rcna63938
