Kristen Bell shares reason why she told her kids their 'daddy was a drug addict’

Kristen Bell and Dax Shepard have often impressed fans with their slightly unconventional approach to parenting.

The pair are mum and dad to daughters Lincoln, 11, and Delta, nine, and while they try and keep home life fairly private on social media, they’re happy to discuss the finer details of raising a family.

From locking their youngest child’s bedroom door after she ‘decided to stop sleeping’ to the ‘waiting for the stink’ approach to hygiene, some of their choices have proven controversial.

However, there’s always method to the madness – as Bell, 44, explained when she revealed no topic is out of bounds with their kids.

The couple share two daughters (Instagram/@kristenanniebell)

Speaking to Real Simple last year as part of the outlet’s Game Changers issue, she said that includes everything from sex and drugs, with the latter being a topic with a particularly personal relevance.

Husband Shepard, 49, has been open about his sobriety journey, having told Playboy in 2012 that he’d been a ‘heavy smoker, heavy drinker, drug addict, terrible eater, and philanderer’ between the ages of 18 and 29.

Bell thinks it’s important that their children aren’t in the dark about this.

"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, and we talk about sex," she explained to Real Simple.

"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."

Bell thinks it’s important their children aren’t in the dark about their dad's addiction (Peru Williams/Variety via Getty Images)

She added: "I hate the word 'taboo.' I think it should be stricken from the dictionary. There should be no topic that's off the table for people to talk about."

Bell also said she and Shepard are dedicated to teaching their kids some simple but ‘important’ rules.

"Making amends and apologizing is an important thing in our family because humans leave carnage wherever they go," she continued.

"I really respect when someone does something wrong or hurtful and they apologize. I'm like, 'Yeah, right on.' That's important."

She went on: "If there's one thing I want to teach my kids, it's how to make amends - and that it's for themselves, so they can like who's in the mirror a little bit more."