Jennifer Garner shares things she tries not to say as a parent
Jennifer Garner opened up about parenthood and raising her three teenagers whom she shares with her ex Ben Affleck.
Speaking to People this week, the "13 Going on 30" actress shared that her kids Violet, 18, Seraphina, 15, and Samuel, 12 are all at a good stage in their lives.
"They're really solid right now," she explained. "I'm just watching them in this new phase of life where they're figuring out who they're going to be and what they're going to study. And I'm so interested in them. All the time, I'm interested in everything about them."
As her kids continue to grow older, Garner admitted at first finding it "hard" to let them make their own decisions.
However, she said she learned to restrain herself from using some phrases when parenting.
"I mean, my parents did too, and I'm so amazed by that. I have a really hard time not saying, 'This is what I see you as,' and 'I think you should,' " she shared. "I really have to sit on my hands."
During her appearance at "Live with Kelly & Mark" in November, Garner spoke about her first kid Violet who was at the time about to enter into adulthood.
"I'm about to have an adult," she told co-hosts Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos. "Three days. I'm three days from my eldest turning 18."
She also shared that Violet had begun her search for colleges.
"She's in the middle of all that," Garner said at the time. "It is exciting. I can see the stress, even though the excitement and stress go hand in hand. But she's handling it like a champ and she's totally in charge."
"I'm not having to say, 'Are you doing this, are you doing that?'" she added. "She's got it. She's a self-starter."
Garner married Affleck in 2005. The former couple announced their separation in 2015 and finalized their divorce in 2018.
