Reese says embarrassed kids become funnier adults later


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Reese Witherspoon, the accomplished actress known for her iconic role in “Legally Blonde,” firmly believes in the importance of exposing her three children to a healthy dose of embarrassment. During a recent appearance on “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon,” she wholeheartedly defended her parenting approach, which involves playfully humiliating her daughter Ava and sons Deacon and Tennessee, ensuring they develop a good sense of humor.

“I think you should embarrass them enough that they’re funny later in life,” Witherspoon stated with conviction, adding that embarrassing one’s children is an essential part of the parenting journey.

Fallon concurred, suggesting that it is essentially a parent’s responsibility to make their kids feel uncomfortable at times.

Witherspoon enthusiastically agreed, “I think you should embarrass them enough that they’re funny later in life.”

The celebrated actress also expressed her amazement at how rapidly her children are growing up, jokingly remarking, “They’re not children anymore. They’re adults, which is weird because I’m 30, you know? It’s weird, but sometimes it works that way.”

Witherspoon shares her children Ava and Deacon with her ex-husband, Ryan Phillippe, to whom she was married from 1999 to 2008. In 2011, she tied the knot with Jim Toth, and a year later, they welcomed their son Tennessee into the world.

However, in 2023, Witherspoon and Toth announced their separation, stating, “We have enjoyed so many wonderful years together and are moving forward with deep love, kindness, and mutual respect for everything we have created together.”

Since then, Witherspoon has found love again with German financier Oliver Haarmann. The couple confirmed their relationship in September 2024, two months after they were first spotted enjoying a romantic dinner date at the West Village eatery L’Artusi.