Entertainment
Eva Mendes sparks debate over decision not to spank her and Ryan Gosling’s kids: ‘We all parent our own way’
Eva Mendes has made it clear she is all for having open discussions about parenting styles as she shared her stance on spanking children.
The 47-year-old is mom to daughters, Esmeralda, six, and Amada Lee, four, who she shares with partner Ryan Gosling, and she revealed she chooses not to physically discipline her young kids.
The Hitch star noted she’s often asked to reveal her thoughts about her favorite red carpet dress and so on, but that she’s not often asked to provide her favorite parenting quote.
She decided to post it anyway as she shared the quote which read: ‘Spanking does for a child’s development what hitting a spouse does for a marriage.’
Many followers agreed with the actress’s post, while others did not as one commented: ‘I don’t know. I was spanked and now I’m a respectful adult. And believe me, I deserved those whoopings. I was a brat.’
Eva made it clear that she was happy to provide a forum for open discussion about the topic as she replied: ‘Thank you for your comment. So happy to agree to disagree. Want this page to offer that in a loving way.’
The Other Guys actress then acknowledged that everyone approaches parenting differently as she continued: ‘We all parent our own way, and I have no idea what I’m doing most the time. This didn’t come with a manual.
‘So when there’s something that resonates with me, I pass it on. Lotsa love.’
Another follower stated they were ‘glad to be growing up at this time that this is being discussed more openly and challenged’, to which Eva responded: ‘so happy to be able to talk about alternative discipline now… When I was a kid that was not an option.’
Eva and Ryan, who have been dating since 2011 after meeting on set of their movie The Place Beyond The Pines, keep their family life extremely private, but Eva has slowly been inviting conversation about parenting onto her Instagram page while interacting with fans.
Opening about family life, Eva previously revealed that she ‘never wanted’ children until meeting and falling in love with her former co-star Ryan.
Speaking on Australian radio, Eva said: ‘I never wanted babies before until I fell in love with Ryan, and it kind of worked out to where I was 40 and having my first baby. I think I was 42 for the second one, so it worked out in that way that I had a career and then I changed my focus to my family.’
Although, she was quick to point out that it shouldn’t be an ‘either-or situation’ when it comes to a woman’s career and starting a family, as she insisted she would ‘never want to send the wrong message to young women’.
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