18 Relatable Parenting Quotes From Kelly Clarkson

The singer has a son and daughter, as well as two stepchildren.
Kelly Clarkson and her husband, Brandon Blackstock, have a blended family that includes four children.
Alberto E. Rodriguez via Getty Images
Kelly Clarkson and her husband, Brandon Blackstock, have a blended family that includes four children.

Kelly Clarkson is not afraid to speak to the reality of motherhood ― from the struggles of pregnancy to the value of a good glass of wine.

The singer and her husband, Brandon Blackstock, have two kids, River Rose and Remington. She’s also stepmom to Seth and Savannah, Blackstock’s children from his first marriage.

In honor of her birthday, we’ve rounded up 18 honest and relatable parenting quotes from Clarkson. Enjoy!

On The Reality Of Pregnancy

“It’s horrible. Nothing is beautiful, nothing is magical. Whatever, you’re that person that gets that pregnancy, good for you. But I will remind my children every day of their lives what I [went through] ... I was literally pregnant with Remy, and I was like, ‘You are getting fixed. This will never happen to me again.’ If something happens, it’s a miracle of God. I literally told my OBGYN on the table while open, ‘If I get pregnant again, I will find you!’”

On Mom Guilt

“I have a lot of mom guilt. I was just talking about this .... If you’re a mom, you want to be with your kid every day. You don’t want to miss a moment, you want her to need you and want you and not want somebody else. But I think it’s really important not only for my little girl and our 15-year-old girl and our boys to see that a woman is capable of kicking ass while also being a kickass mom. I’m not gonna BS you, that’s hard. There are days where I cry and I’m like, ‘I don’t know if I can handle all this!’ or get it all done. But at the end of the day, 99 percent of the time, it’s awesome and it’s worth it, and that’s what I say to myself.”

On Teaching Kids What Matters

“I try not to compliment our boys or our girls so much on aesthetics. If they look handsome or beautiful, obviously we’ll say that, but I’m really adamant about everyone around us always saying like, ‘God, you’re clever. You’re smart. You’re witty, you’re funny’ ... all the other things that make character.”

Clarkson with her daughter River Rose and holding son Remington (aka Remy).
Handout via Getty Images
Clarkson with her daughter River Rose and holding son Remington (aka Remy).

On The Challenges Of Parenthood

“[Kids] are challenging. Wine is necessary. They’re great though. Out of the mouths of babes. They say stuff where you’re like ‘Damn.’ They call you out. I know it sounds silly but kids teach you to be a better human. They’re watching every moment, not only me at home but me sitting here with y’all.”

On Raising An Empowered Daughter

“I try to just be a confident female for her ― and I believe actions obviously speak louder than words, it’s an old saying but it’s very true. I’m sure [all of my kids will] end up in therapy for something. But I hope it won’t be for lack of confidence. And, I want my boys to not be afraid of that. It’s a turn on [for my husband] that I’m a pretty badass female; boys that I dated before, they got intimidated by it, that’s not fair to me because I work very hard. So I’m glad our boys and also our girls have a man to look [up to], who shows them, ‘this is how you treat a woman, this is how you respect a woman.’ He takes his daughter on dates and shows her, ‘This is what a guy should do.’”

On Talking To Her Kids About The News

“It’s a daily challenge, because our 10-year-old or 16-year-old will often say something like, ‘Why does this person say this? Are they allowed to say this?’ I’m not going to lie, it’s hard, because every single day I’m explaining away a news headline or action of someone in politics. But I think it’s a very crucial time for anyone with kids. All of those things that are happening in our political arena, or in the entertainment industry? Well, there’s bullying, there’s sexual harassment and there’s a rape culture in schools. It all starts young. So right now we have a unique opportunity to use what’s happening to ask our kids, ‘Do you think this was right or wrong? What do you think should have happened?’ It sounds obvious, but that’s the only way, long term, this world is going to get any better.”

On Being A Working Mom

“When you work, you miss things. And then you see pictures. It’s awesome because you see them, but then you’re like, ‘Aww you get to do the fun stuff, and I’m working’ But I love my job .... Every time I look at [my son], I’ll look at him and go ‘mama,’ and he’ll go ‘dada.’ And I’m like, ‘You know what, child? I work real hard. You better say [“mama”].’ And then my nanny and his grandma will go, ‘He said mama this morning,’ and I’m like, ‘No, he didn’t!’ ... It’s challenging when you’re a working parent ― we’re both working parents ― just to make sure each gets their time. We kind of do that with reading.”

On Her Daughter’s Celebrity Crush

“My daughter is obsessed currently ― with Chris Martin. She’s in love with him ... [At bedtime,] she said, ‘Sing a song about stars.’ I started singing ‘Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star.’ She was like, ‘Boring.’ She said, ‘Another song about stars.’ So the only one I could think of was, ‘Look at the stars, look how they shine for you.’ So I started singing that, and now she’s obsessed with it. When I say obsessed, I mean the boy from the video, not Chris Martin now. She doesn’t understand that he’s not the boy in the ‘Yellow’ video, like when he first came out years ago .... It’s weird and scary foreshadowing .... I’m like, ‘You need to slow your roll!’”

Clarkson has been known to reference the power of a glass of wine in discussing parenting challenges.
NBC via Getty Images
Clarkson has been known to reference the power of a glass of wine in discussing parenting challenges.

On What She Wants Her Kids To Learn

“I hope with our two boys and our two girls that they see their parents as successful, loving and respectful people ’cause that’s what we want for them ... I’m going to teach my kids to do what they love, regardless if they’re the most famous person doing it. Love what you do. Love who you work with and don’t work with people you don’t, and don’t do things you don’t love.”

On Not Missing Pregnancy

“Anytime I see someone pregnant, I just pray for them. [Pregnancy] was literally the worst moments of my life. I’m not kidding — I wish I were that girl that [had good memories of pregnancy]. But no. Nope. Don’t miss it. It’s as if someone was in an accident ― they’re pregnant, I’m like, ‘Oh, my God.’”

On Her Village

“Giiiirl, we have a village. No one can do it alone. The kids have grandparents who are awesome, and we both have great assistants, because Brandon manages me and Blake Shelton, so that’s two pretty busy careers. And then we have two nannies who help us tremendously, they’re the greatest gifts ever. We have our little village that helps us keep everyone’s head above water and also aren’t afraid to say, ‘Hey, you guys are taking on too much.’”

On Raising Kids With Perspective

“That’s my fear with my kids, especially my younger two, that they won’t experience some of the hardships that helped mold my husband and I into these very independent beings that can handle quite a bit. But I try to show them how to be appreciative and respectful and take them to things where they can see other people that don’t have the benefits that they have right now.”

On Being An Ally As A Parent

“Oh, I don’t care [what River’s sexuality turns out to be]. I mean, here’s what I hope for her: I just hope she finds love. It took me a while, man. And there was a lot of heartache throughout those years .... You know, as long as she’s happy, I don’t care either way, and neither does my husband .... Honestly, it’s so funny, it doesn’t even register in my world as different. I don’t know why. But, yeah, it doesn’t. I’m glad it doesn’t!”

On The Empowering Part Of Parenthood

“I’ve always been a confident girl, I’ve always felt sexy and intelligent. But after becoming a mother, the amount of shit that you get done, you’re so impressed with yourself! It’s the most empowering feeling, because it makes you want to worry about the pettiness and trivial things a lot less.”

Clarkson brought River Rose and Savannah to the American Music Awards in 2017.
Jon Kopaloff via Getty Images
Clarkson brought River Rose and Savannah to the American Music Awards in 2017.

On Appreciating Her Own Mother

“Every time I see my mom, I’m just, I’m in awe of how she did it. She had three kids living under one roof in this tiny apartment, and she worked and put herself through school, and became a teacher, and was the director of a day care .... And she really got the shaft from my biological father and just handed all this stuff with no help. Now, as an adult, I understand that must have been so hard, you know? We have four kids, but I have help. I don’t know how my mom did that, it’s, I’m in awe of it. And here’s the funny thing: There are millions of women and men that do the same thing, that raise their kids alone. It’s hard enough with a partner, you know? I think watching her, though, [was] really cool for me because it taught me that I can accomplish anything. We were so poor ― I mean, living paycheck to paycheck ― and it was a very hard thing for her. I think it was very good for me to see that, in a sense, because I am really appreciative of what I have and what I work for.”

On Work-Life Balance

“I don’t want to be one of those pop star moms that doesn’t see their kids ... They’re almost just like an accessory. I want to hang out with them and be there ... It’s hard to be a really good mom and a really good person at your job But I do have a village of people. I have to release control and just say, ‘I’m not going to be able to be there for everything, and it’s OK, because I’m showing my daughter and my son and our kids that you can do both and achieve great things. If you work hard, you can play hard.’”

On Her Mama Bear Tendencies

“Literally, having children has brought fear to my life. That sounds horrible, I know, but before kids I was fearless. Now I go to bed and I have nightmares of someone just grabbing my little girl and running. It’s always about me not being able to protect my kids somehow. I’m a mama bear .... Just recently our nanny told me that an older kid was mean to my daughter at the park and that she just crumbled. I’m glad I wasn’t there, because I wouldn’t have handled that well. I totally went off on that 6-year-old in my head!”

On Her Changing Point Of View

“I love what I do, but I feel like I relied on my career a lot for my self-worth. And now I’m more than that. I’m a mother and a wife and have this whole other thing going on.”

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