From Free-Range to Fully Offbeat, These Celebs Embrace Unconventional Parenting Styles

Nick Cannon

Nick Cannon has a big family, but his kids don’t necessarily know that. The dad of 12 revealed in a June 2023 episode of Dr. Laura Berman’s The Language of Love podcast that some of his kids don’t know each other, and the ones who have met, don’t know they are siblings. This is because some of the six moms of his children don’t want them to.

“Because they’re currently under their mothers’ jurisdiction, I’m trying to play by the moms’ rules,” Cannon explained. “But once they can make their own decisions, I would hope and pray that we’ll have established a strong enough relationship that they’ll want to come hang out with me.”

He said when the time does come to talk to his kids about it, he will say something like, “You know daddy already has a lot of kids. And you’re special, I appreciate our bond, but I also have other relationships that have produced other children that I love dearly as well.”

Serena Williams & Alexis Ohanian

Despite having the money to give their daughter Olympia, born in 2017, the world, Serena Williams and Alexis Ohanian are very strategic about teaching her the value of hard work. 

In an interview on the Spolitics with Jemele Hill podcast, the Reddit co-founder revealed that he drafted a contract for his daughter’s allowance, which was negotiated by Williams.

“Serena was her lawyer in the negotiation,” Ohanian said. “We negotiated it. Her mom was her counsel, which was really frustrating.”

She gets the weekends off and for feeding the dog, putting her clothes in the hamper, and making her bed, Olympia earns $7 a week.

“We’re trying to create that flywheel between doing the work and getting the money and then understanding that there are things you could want,” Ohanian explained. He shared that when Olympia wanted a Tamagotchi watch that cost at least $100, Ohanian reminded her that she didn’t have enough.

“I was like, ‘You got money?’ And she’s like, ‘I don’t have enough,’” the dad of two said. “I was like, ‘OK, good. Embrace that feeling. … I need her to feel that little bit of pain of like, ‘Oh I gotta wait two more weeks for that paycheck.’”

“Neither Serena nor I grew up with wealth,” the tech icon continued. “And so, we’re both trying to navigate how to create the circumstances for her to be able to be a functional adult while also having resources that we could never imagine.”

Kourtney Kardashian

Kourtney Kardashian’s parenting style is so unusual, even her mom Kris Jenner can’t get behind it. In an April 2025 episode of The Kardashians, Jenner shared that she doesn’t agree with having a “kid in the bed” like her daughter Kourtney, who co-sleeps with son Rocky, born in 2023, with husband Travis Barker. 

“This is a different generation,” Jenner said. “We didn’t co-sleep in the ‘80s, no, we didn’t. We had structure. We had schedules. We had mealtimes. We put our kids to bed at 7 o’ clock. And then we go to dinner and have some grown up time and it was a wonderful life.”

The Lemme founder defended herself, saying, “With my babies and my husband, I have a desire to slow down. It’s nice to actually linger in a moment, not rushing so you can experience everything. If you just slow everything down, then everyone can enjoy and experience things more together.”

In a May 2025 interview with her sister Khloe Kardashian, Kourtney shared how she enjoys going against the grain. “I think living authentically is not conforming to whatever it is,” Kourtney said. “For me, there’s so many ways. There’s ways we function as a family that…it’s like if someone does the same thing every day. Like I do it with everything, it’s not about our family.”

“Like, let’s say the school system. I’ll think, ‘Why do kids f—— go to school?’ Truly. It’s so dated,” Kourtney added. Unconventional is an understatement! 

Ice-T & Coco Austin

Coco Austin has faced more than her fair share of backlash over the years parenting her daughter Chanel, born in 2015, due to the most random things like kissing her daughter or wearing matching bikinis. Her husband Ice-T defended her unique parenting style in a 2023 interview with PEOPLE.

“We do our parenting,” he said. “I think the thing of it is, it’s Ice-T and Coco. Our parenting is a lot different than the normal, square couple from Oklahoma. I’m a f—ing rock star, it’s different.” He added, “We’re like the Osbournes. We have a different dynamic in our house. But it’s not harmful. That’s the main thing. It’s us.”

Rumer Willis

Rumer Willis has opened up about the unique way she is raising her daughter Louetta, born in April 2023. In an interview on Zoe Winkler’s What in the Winkler podcast, the My Divorce Party star shared that she sleeps in the bed with her mom Demi Moore and her daughter and hopes to continue doing so as she gets older. “Honestly, I hope Lou will, like, still sleep in bed with me when she’s my age,” Rumer said. “I still sleep in bed with my mom, and I don’t think it’s weird.”

She added that she and her sisters and mom also “all still take baths together” too. “And that’s just the kind of house that I grew up in,” she continued. “People might think that that’s crazy and weird, but I don’t.”

In a 2024 interview with The New York Post, Rumer said, “I grew up in a house where we would lick each other’s faces, and my sisters and I would all — with my mom — we would all bathe together.” She went on, “And there was just a kind of crazy, silly, weirdo, goofy, naked house.”

“I think that silliness and goofiness is so deeply a part of me, and it’s really what I want to help cultivate in [my daughter’s] life,” Rumer added.

Will & Jada Pinkett Smith

Will and Jada Pinkett Smith are known for being very open with their kids (Trey, born in 1992, whom Will shares with ex-wife Sheree Zampino, Jaden, born in 1998, and Willow, born in 2000) and parenting from a child-led philosophy.

In a 2013 interview with Metro, via E! News, Will shared, “We don’t do punishment. The way that we deal with our kids is [that] they are responsible for their lives.” He continued, “You can do anything you want as long as you can explain to me why that was the right thing to do for your life.”

The dad of 3 shared more details about this approach during a 2016 interview on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, explaining the family’s “circle of safety” method. “They’re allowed to tell us everything that they did [in the circle of safety], and they can’t get in trouble. The rule is, if we find out after the circle of safety that there was something you didn’t say, there was hell to pay.”

The couple also takes great pride in parenting in a manner that allows their kids to have complete autonomy over themselves. Jada shared a Facebook post in 2012 after being criticized for allowing Willow to shave her head, writing, “This is a world where women [and] girls are constantly reminded that they don’t belong to themselves — that their bodies are not their own, nor their power or self-determination. I made a promise to endow my little girl with the power to always know that her body, spirit and her mind are her domain.”

Jada also told Health, per E! News, “I want to give [my kids] the opportunity to make mistakes and learn how to put boundaries on themselves, so by the time they’re out of the house, they fly.”

Gisele Bündchen

Gisele Bündchen got creative with her breast milk when her children, Benjamin, born in 2009, and Vivian, born in 2012, were babies. She told People in 2018, “If they had something in their eyes, I’d put breast milk in their eyes. Before [a] flight, I would get a dropper and put milk up their nose… to [ward off] the bacteria on the plane.”

The model also followed an interesting technique to potty train her son, which apparently worked as she shared he was using the toilet at just 6 months old. According to the Boston Herald, the mom of two used elimination communication to train her son — a method in which she carried her baby around naked and sat him on the toilet to do his duty after breastfeeding sessions.

Megan Fox & Brian Austin Green

Ex-spouses Megan Fox and Brian Austin Green are all about letting their kids, Noah, born in 2012, Bodhi, born in 2014, and Journey, born in 2016, express themselves as they wish through clothing.

In a 2016 appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live!, Fox shared how her experience growing up in a Pentecostal church influenced her parenting style. “The women in the church are only allowed to wear pants; you can’t wear dresses; you can’t wear make-up or jewelry, so it’s a really sort of oppressive environment to grow up in. But I sort of lean left of that now,” she explained. “Noah wears dresses, so there are no rules — you can be whatever you want to be in my house.”

Green agreed, telling People in 2017, “I feel like at 4, at 5, that’s a time when he should be having fun. He’s not harming anyone wearing a dress. So if he wants to wear a dress, good on him.”

Alicia Silverstone

Alicia Silverstone also embraces unconventional parenting methods with her son, Bear, born in 2011.

The actress and author of The Kind Mama revealed on an episode of The Ellen Fisher Podcast, “Bear and I still sleep together. And I’ll be in trouble for saying that. But I don’t really care.” She explained, “I’m a natural mama. And I just do what’s natural. I’m a loving mama. I believe in love; I believe in nature, and our society is scared of nature and scared of love. If you were in any kind of wild setting where there are animals, if you put your baby over there, your baby is going to get eaten — so it’s not ideal for the baby to be over there.”

She explained another unconventional method she took to when Bear was a baby: Feeding him pre-chewed food, like birds do with their babies. She explained to ET, per OK! Magazine, “It’s a part of the weaning process, so while I’m still breast-feeding it’s just a way to introduce him to food when he doesn’t have teeth.” Silverstone continued, “When he was about 5 months old, I’d be eating and he would come at me with his little mouth open and be on my mouth trying to get the food out of my mouth.”

Like Bündchen, Silverstone also followed elimination communication to potty train her son. She told People, “Just like your baby tells you it needs to eat or it’s tired, they tell you when they need to go to the bathroom. They give you cues, but we’re ignoring those cues. If you pay attention, they actually have a pause button and will give you enough time to get to a place that makes it comfortable for them to go. It’s amazing.”

Mayim Bialik

Actress, author, neuroscientist, and certified lactation educator Mayim Bialik embraced attachment parenting (“an approach to childrearing that promotes a secure attachment bond between parents and their children… fulfilling that child’s need for trust, empathy, and affection by providing consistent, loving, and responsive care,” per Attachment Parenting International) with her sons Miles, born in 2005, and Frederick, born in 2008 — so much so that she wrote an entire book on it.

In an interview with Green Child Magazine, Bialik explained, “Gentle discipline to me is not permissive parenting, which implies that parent and child are peers. It’s more about communicating your needs to your child and respecting his needs at the same time.”

She continued, “It’s using the same logic with your children as you would use with a boss, friend, or your spouse. Children aren’t stupid, and they feel valued when we treat them with respect.”

Bialik also received flack from the public after sharing a photo of her breastfeeding a 3-year-old Fred at the time, but she told TIME she felt no shame in it because “Fred-led weaning” is what worked for her and her son.

Penelope Cruz

Screen time and social media are hot topics in today’s conversations around parenting, and for Penelope Cruz‘s kids Leo, born in 2011, and Luna, born in 2013, both are a no-go until they reach a certain age.

The actress explained during a CBS Sunday Morning appearance, per Us Weekly, “I really see that that is protecting mental health, but I seem to be part of a minority.” She continued, “I feel really bad for the ones that are teenagers now. It’s almost [as] if the world was doing some kind of experiment on them. ‘Oh, let’s see what happens if you expose a 12-year-old to that much technology.'”

Cruz continued to express her concerns, saying, “There is no protection for them, for brains that are still developing and how that affects the way they see themselves, how everything related to bullying, so many things that are not the childhood that we had. [My kids] can [only] watch movies sometimes or some cartoons… [But no phones] until they are much older. And no social media until at least 16.”

Ashton Kutcher & Mila Kunis

Mila Kunis and Ashton Kutcher are hell-bent on not raising a—holes, because “there’s enough a—holes in this world [and they] don’t need to contribute.” Part of their technique to avoid developing a—holery in their kids (Wyatt, born in 2014, and Dimitri, born in 2016) is to be less capitalistic than most around the holidays.

During a 2017 interview with ET, Kunis shared, “So far, our tradition is no presents for the kids. We’re instituting it this year because when the kids are [younger than] one, it doesn’t really matter.”

She continued to explain, “Last year when we celebrated Christmas, Wyatt was two and it was too much. We didn’t give her anything — it was the grandparents. The kid no longer appreciates the one gift. They don’t even know what they’re expecting; they’re just expecting stuff.”

As far as her and Kutcher’s alternative idea, Kunis said, “We’ve told our parents, ‘We’re begging you — if you have to give her something, pick one gift. Otherwise, we’d like to take a charitable donation, to the Children’s Hospital or a pet [or] whatever you want.’ That’s our new tradition.”

Kate Hudson

Like Megan Fox and Brian Austin Green, Kate Hudson also follows a gender-neutral approach to raising her daughter, Rani, born in 2018. In a 2019 interview with AOL, the actress explained, “I think you just raise your kids individually regardless — like a genderless [approach].”

She continued, “We still don’t know what she’s going to identify as. I will say that, right now, she is incredibly feminine in her energy, her sounds and her way. It’s very different from the boys, and it’s really fun to actually want to buy kids’ clothes.”

Hudson went on to share that she wants Rani to feel free and liberated, just as she wants for herself. “That is, to me, where contentment and happiness lie,” she explained. “Not feeling tied down. Being okay saying ‘no.’ Feeling secure and safe in yourself and your family and your relationship. When you create that safe haven, nothing else really matters.”

She concluded, “It’s not fun to feel like you have to keep things hidden. When you can just be exactly yourself, that’s where happiness comes for me.”

Gwyneth Paltrow

In an effort to help her children, Apple, born in 2004, and Moses, born in 2006, become bilingual, Gwyneth Paltrow had them watch TV in French and Spanish — but never English.

The actress and entrepreneur told NDTV, via Inquisitr, “Apple was cross as I only let them watch TV in French or Spanish. When I’m in France, I go to Boulevard Beaumarchais and buy all their cartoons.”

Alanis Morissette

Like Mayim Bialik and Alicia Silverstone, Alanis Morissette also followed attachment parenting with her son, Ever, born in 2010.

She was particularly outspoken about breastfeeding — in a 2012 appearance on Good Morning America, per the Daily Mail, the singer said, “I’ll stop whenever he wants. Some kids naturally stop at two, some stop at a couple of years later, it’s up to the child. I will stop when he says it’s time to stop.”

Nikki Reed & Ian Somerhalder

Nikki Reed and Ian Somerhalder are very private about their child, Bodhi Soleil, born in 2017, but they did share that following her birth, they planned to take a “month of silence.”

Reed told Fit Pregnancy and Baby before their daughter’s arrival, “We’ll take the baby’s first month for ourselves. After the baby arrives, we’re doing one month of silence. Just the three of us, no visitors, and we’re turning off our phones too, so there’s no expectation for us to communicate.”

The actress and entrepreneur explained, “Otherwise, every five minutes it would be, ‘How are you feeling? Can we have a picture?’ You don’t get those first 30 days back, and we want to be fully present.”

Christina Aguilera

While many parents try to shelter their children from sex and nudity, Christina Aguilera chose to expose her son Max, born in 2008, to both from a young age in an effort to normalize the taboo topics.

The singer and actress said during a 2010 radio appearance, per Us Weekly, “I think it’s important that he sees mommy not be ashamed for her sexuality. I mean, he’s two. We’re art collectors, there are a lot of female nudes around the house. Max will be growing up in a house where it’s just the norm… It’s only weird when you shame it.”

Kristen Bell & Dax Shepard

At the 2018 world premiere of the IMAX documentary PANDAS, Kristen Bell got candid about the controversial route she and husband Dax Shepard took to get their youngest daughter, Delta, born in 2014, to wind down at bedtime.

“My 3-year-old [Delta] decided to stop sleeping about nine months ago,” the actress explained, continuing, “And every night, when we put her to bed, she turns the lights on, which annoys the 4-year-old [Lincoln, born in 2013], and she will move furniture, and she bangs on the door with hard toys.” Her and Shepard’s solution? “We switched the door knob. We turned the lock on the outside.”

The mom of two continued to explain, “I’m sorry, I know that’s controversial, but we lock it when she gets in there, and we stand outside and say, ‘We love you, we will talk to you in the morning, but now, it’s time for sleep.’ And after about 10 minutes, she’ll wind herself down. And then, before we go to bed, obviously, we unlock it.”

heidi-klum

While most parents shy away from allowing their kids to wear makeup or “adult” clothing before a certain age, Heidi Klum doesn’t see any harm in letting her daughters wear heels for special occasions.

The supermodel shares four kids with ex-husband Seal: Leni, born in 2004, Henry, born in 2005, Johan, born in 2006, and Lou, born in 2009. When it comes to Leni and Lou, Klum told Elle in 2018, “People get upset, especially in Germany, if they see my daughters wearing high heels. Big deal!”

She continued, “If we go to a restaurant, they like to get dressed up. It’s fun for them. So what if they hobble on their little heels for 20 steps from the car to the restaurant? As long as they’re good kids and they get good grades, they can wear what they want to wear.”

Angelina Jolie & Brad Pitt

In 2013, Brad Pitt shared one of his and now-ex Angelina Jolie‘s parenting techniques with their six kids, Maddox, born in 2001, Pax, born in 2003, Zahara, born in 2005, Shiloh, born in 2006, and twins Knox and Vivienne, born in 2008.

In an interview with Extra, per People, the actor said, “We have a policy in our family — no secrets. I mean, there’s an age of understanding, so you’ve got to present it in a way that is age-appropriate, but we know our children very well.” He continued, “We want everything to be on the table and any questions they have, for them to ask.”

Madonna

Madonna, who has 6 children (Lourdes, born in 1996, Rocco, born in 2000, David Banda, born in 2005, Mercy James, born in 2006, and twins Stella and Estere, born in 2012), is known for quite a few unconventional parenting methods, including a strict diet of no sweets, dairy products, salt, or preservatives, and no TV, according to a 2016 article by Page Six.

The singer previously shared her views on television and other forms of media in a 2005 interview with Manchester Evening News, saying, “TV is trash. I was raised without it, I didn’t miss anything. TV is poison. No one even talks about it around here. We don’t have magazines or newspapers in the house either.”

The Material Girl also told Page Six that if her kids leave their clothes on the floor, they’re taken away. Speaking of Lourdes, Madonna explained, “She has to earn all of her clothes back by being tidy, picking up things in her room, making her bed in the morning. She wears the same outfit every day to school until she learns her lesson.”