Drew Barrymore revealed she felt like a “failure” during the early stages of motherhood in a new interview.
Speaking with the hosts of the “Chicks in the Office” podcast, the 47-year-old actress admitted she did not have a “blueprint” when it came to raising her kids.
“All those parents who have it all together, and they’ve got hygiene and nutrition and schedules and boundaries, God bless you,” Barrymore said. “I didn’t know any of that stuff when I had my kids.”
“I did not have the blueprint and I felt like a failure a lot. I felt really overwhelmed and like, ‘I don’t know what I’m doing… I don’t know what I’m doing and I’m gonna have to learn on the job.'”
Barrymore explained how things have changed since she was a kid, teasing that parents used to leave their children “in the driveway for three hours eating rocks and nobody cared.”
She said that leniency in parenting “led to resiliency” before adding, “and now we’re like, helicopter parenting and coddling and, you know, watching everything.”
Barrymore shares two children with her ex-husband Will Kopelman. The “Charlie’s Angels” star welcomed her first daughter Olive in 2012 and her second daughter Frankie in 2014.
The “50 First Dates” actress noted that although many people say you should just know what to do after having a child, she did not.
“I’m like, ‘No, I don’t know what to do.’ Where are the parents out there, who are admitting that? This is humorous, embarrassing, humbling, wild,” Barrymore emphasized.
“It’s funny, I was so unforgiving of myself when my kids were younger and now that they’re almost – Frankie’s almost 9 and Olive’s like 10, it’s shifted into something very different, and I’m having the best time ever,” she continued. “I have learned boundaries.”
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Barrymore and Kopelman divorced in 2016. The two had been married for four years.
The actress opened up about co-parenting with her ex during a recent episode of “The Drew Barrymore Show.”
“I am co-parenting with someone,” Barrymore explained. “And although we might not be married anymore, and he’s even married with his beautiful new wife, Allie [Michler], our wonderful step-mother, we’re in a daily engagement, and our relationship has never been better.”
Barrymore went on to emphasize that exes should be championed in the home.
“We should champion our exes, and you don’t have to be best friends, especially if they have a new person in their life,” she said.