Topics: Parenting, Celebrity, Entertainment, Sex and Relationships, Life, Podcasts
Dax Shepard has explained why he and his wife Kristen Bell are raising their kids to 'talk back' and 'be disrespectful'.
Now, I know what you're thinking, surely it's parenting 101 to teach your children respect and politeness, but hold fire as he has a pretty good reason behind it.
The 50-year-old American actor and comedian and 45-year-old Nobody Wants This star share two daughters, Lincoln, 12, and Delta, 10.
The celebrity couple have been together since 2007, after they met at a birthday party for Forgetting Sarah Marshall producer Shauna Robertson. Two years later, they quietly got engaged and tied the knot in 2013.
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Speaking in a recent episode of his Armchair Expert podcast, Shepard delved into his controversial parenting technique and the thought process behind it.
He recalled a conversation he had with a close friend about his daughters while they out to eat in Nashville, where the pal pointed out his kids' 'lack of respect'.
Speaking on his podcast, Shepard explained: "She said it very kindly, but she's basically like, they're kind of shook with how our daughters will talk back to us or to anybody because it's very un-Southern, right?
"And she's like, yeah, your kids will let it rip. They seem to have no kind of respect is what she was saying. And feeling a little entitled."
He continued: "And I said, 'You're dead right.' They do talk back and they are not respectful."
The actor then doubled down and explained his reasoning for doing this, rather than opting for the more traditional 'Southern manners' approach.
He said: "I can understand where that seems completely unruly, but I want you to know what I'm prioritising, which is when they're 19 and their boss is a f***ing creep, I want them to talk back.
"I want them to be disrespectful. I want them to always advocate for themselves, whether I think they're right or wrong."
Shepard admitted he's 'willing to deal' with what people might think is 'embarrassing' behaviour from his children in a restaurant if it means they'll stick up for themselves in the future.
"I can handle that because I want this other thing for them as women," the star said.
It's not the first time he's opened up about his untraditional parenting techniques.
In July, Shepard discussed his and Bell's decision to allow their girls to swear when they're in the house.
He revealed: "I fully swear in front of my kids. They are allowed to swear, not with impunity, but when it's called for and they land it. And it's in the house and not out at a restaurant, it's okay.
"My defence of it is, I just told the girls, like 'Hey, these are noises that come out of your mouth and you assign what they mean to you'."
It comes just after Bell was in the firing line last month for her anniversary tribute to Shepard, in which she revealed he joked about 'killing her'.
She jokingly penned: "Happy 12th wedding anniversary to the man who once said to me: 'I would never kill you. A lot of men have killed their wives at a certain point. Even though I’m heavily incentivised to kill you, I never would'."
One person wrote on social media: "Kristen there’s no way you posted this during domestic violence awareness month."
While another added: "Domestic violence isn’t a joke."
LADbible Group has previously contacted reps for Bell and Shepard for comment.
