16 Honest Quotes About Motherhood From Charlize Theron

“Raising kids is not through rose-colored lenses. There is real grit to it.”
Charlize Theron has two children.
Axelle/Bauer-Griffin / Getty Images
Charlize Theron has two children.

Charlize Theron is not afraid to speak honestly about the joys and challenges of motherhood.

Over the years, the actress has opened up about raising her two adopted children, Jackson and August.

In honor of her birthday today, we’ve rounded up 16 quotes about parenthood from Theron. From mental health to dating to all the glitter, these quotes cover many familiar aspects of taking care of children.

On Going From One Kid To Two

“You’re doing the same thing, and on top of that, you have to be a real person to this (other) little human who can talk and is expecting things from you. There were moments when that was just too hard and I couldn’t do it.”

On Glitter

“There’s way too much of it in the house. I don’t buy it, but [they’re on those] costume dresses, and so there’s a lot of times when I’m walking through the house thinking I’m going senile ― because you know I have this little OCD thing ― and I’m like, ‘Where is this glitter coming from?!’”

On Parenting With OCD

“I work on it. I’ve gotten a little bit better. My kids definitely helped me be less anxious about a lot of that stuff. There are certain rooms now that ... I’ve given up on, you know?”

On Dating As A Mom

“Once you have children, that’s who you are. There is no way around that. That’s who I am ... Once I had my kids, the first two years you’re so, you turn into such a mom. Your body almost switches off. It’s like I had no desire to date or anything.”

On Instagram-Perfect Parenting

“This highly curated Instagram world of, ‘Which mom looks best in her bikini two hours after giving birth?’ I hate that that’s happened — everyone’s life looks cute when you throw a filter on it.”

On Raising Two Kids

“I’m a single mom and I have an incredible village that helps me raise these two beautiful kids. In the mornings I have them alone, and they kind of work against each other sometimes. One kind of decides to freak out, and then both decide to freak out. I don’t know why they decide to do that? You think they’d stand there and be considerate like: ‘Well, that one is freaking out right now, I’m not gonna freak out.’ They don’t do that.”

On Losing Her Mind Sometimes

“I think every piece of advice has been really good from my mom. She’s like, ‘You know what, tomorrow is going to be a new day. It’s not the end of the world.’ Sometimes I lose my mind especially in a car, like when we’re on a road trip or something. She’ll look at me and laugh ... Then she’ll say, ‘It’s just a moment. It’s going to pass. It’s going to pass.’”

On Choosing To Be A Single Mother

“I’m not trying to prove anything or become a symbol. It’s just the way things worked out. When you adopt, you have to do it unconditionally. I threw myself into the adoption process because I was convinced that I could fulfill the role of mother and give my children all the love and attention they need. No one aspires to become a single parent, but I learned a long time ago that you can’t control everything in life. I have adapted to the situation because I am pragmatic.”

On Judgment

“I remember so vividly a parent really shaming me for raising my kids — who are both adopted — on formula. ... A lot of times it’s the non-parents who are so ready to give you advice. ... The world tells us that once you have a baby you just kind of naturally go into this state of knowing what to do. When you say anything honest about how messy it is, it tends to come with a lot of shame — and there shouldn’t be any shame attached to it. The more we kind of talk about it and share those experiences with each other, the less we feel alone.”

On Becoming A Mom

Everything has changed! When I became a mother, I had already wanted it for a long time. I craved motherhood, and I was incredibly invested in it. It’s not easy to adopt, even when you’re a celebrity. But when I held my children in my arms, I was happier than I ever expected to be. Today, motherhood is a source of joy every single day, something stronger than everything else, more powerful than my career.”

On Raising Siblings

“I’m an only child so I didn’t grow up with siblings, and so I had no idea the beauty that siblings have with each other. Like, it really is one of the most incredible things I’ve ever witnessed. To see how much they love each other, and to see how much they’re excited to see each other. They’re so in love with each other, it’s really beautiful.”

On How Parenthood Changes Everything

“I waited a long time to become a mother. It has exceeded all my expectations. It’s such a beautiful feeling to hold your children in your arms and be able to watch them grow and discover the world. It’s changed my life completely. Before, when there were no children in my life, my work always came first. I also had the freedom to be able to take off and travel for three or four months at a time by myself. But even though I can’t do that anymore, I’m so incredibly happy to spend my time with my children. Every day that I wake up I’m thinking about what I’m going to do with them and how I’m going to make them happy.”

On Having A Nontraditional Family

“We get so restricted in our thoughts of a mother and a father and what a family should look like, and we neglect other relationships like that of a parent, a grandparent and a child, a grandchild. And aside [from] what it gives me, I just think my kids are going to be cool little dudes.”

On The Grit Of Parenting

“Raising kids is not through rose-colored lenses. There is real grit to it.”

On Being An Example

“I want to be that example for my son. I want him to grow up with a mom that he could see and look at her life with all the mistakes and with all the failures and all the flaws and say, ‘My mom lived an authentic life. That was the life she wanted to live.’”

On The Messy Truth Of Raising Kids

“It is interesting that we live in a time where we share everything, and yet there’s still so much stigma about the truth of how messy it is to raise kids, and the judgment that goes along with it, and this idea that it’s supposed to be one thing and that’s the only thing it is, and if you’re not in agreement with that, then somehow you’re the one fucking it up and you’re the bad parent. I hope [“Tully,” her new movie] can start allowing people to have a more honest conversation about just how hard and messy it is to raise kids and how it’s not what we’ve been told it is all these years.”

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