Being a working mom is a delicate balancing act for Joanna Gaines, who deals with co-running a lifestyle empire while also being an effective and considerate parent.
The 47-year-old shares kids Drake, 20, Ella, 18, Duke, 17, Emmie, 15, and Crew, seven, with her husband and business partner Chip Gaines, 50, and like any other parents, they have certain rules to live by.
Joanna appeared on an episode of her friend Hoda Kotb’s podcast Making Space, where the former TODAY anchor asked her about how she brings her love for homes to her own abode in Waco, Texas.
© InstagramShe recalled one moment when her kids were quite young when she was designing a historic home they were all living in and they were approached by a magazine to shoot it. “So I designed it for this shoot,” she continued.
However, she confronted that idea when she realized her kids were unsure of how to interact with the space. “It’s never been the same,” Joanna added. “I will never design again for a shoot or for the end. I have to do this for my family.”
The mom-of-five was then asked by Hoda, herself a mom to two young daughters, what kind of rules she has for her kids, with Joanna explaining that she and Chip primarily instill some discipline with one key aspect — phones.
© Instagram“This is a silly one, but I always tell my kids phones are terrible,” she explained, also emphasizing that she has candid conversations with them about why these things can harm or help, while being open with them about their own phone usage for work commitments.
The rule in the Gaines household, she revealed, is that you don’t get a phone until you turn 13, which means the only one in the house without one at this point is Crew. But you also don’t actually get access to the internet or social media until you turn 18, a privilege currently only Ella and Drake are afforded.
© Getty Images“We have this computer at home, it’s facing out, you need to get on it, there it is, let us know, what do you need,” she continued. “But on their phones, there’s no sitting or scrolling for hours searching…because we all know sometimes where that leads.”
Joanna made sure to point out, though, that it was in an effort to encourage the entire family to be more proactive when it came to building relationships with each other and appreciating the environment around them, especially the surroundings of their 40-acre home.
© Kimmie Salmon“In our family, we say we live on a farm,” the HGTV star shared. “You have this beautiful life, get outside. If you even have an inkling to be bored, then you’re not doing something right,” so much so that they’re not allowed to say “I’m bored” in their household.
“You’re not allowed to say you’re bored, and boredom is probably a very healthy thing to actually sit in, and be okay with doing nothing,” she added. “But if you’re bored and want to go do something mindless, and mindlessness isn’t bad, but we always say, ‘Go outside.'”
