Reese Witherspoon says you can give your child harsh advice if it’s true

Nov 29, 2018

Herb Scribner

Reese Witherspoon says it’s OK to tell your child he or she is bad at something.

What happened: Witherspoon told Fast Company in a recent interview that she gave her daughter a dose of harsh advice. She said she supports giving children harsh advice.

“I feel like I’m constantly counteracting pressure from the parents who want to make the lives of their kids golden and magical at all moments! Guess what, kids? You’re going to be disappointed and uncomfortable once in a while,” she said.

She told a story about finding her daughter Ava crying in bed when she was in third grade (she’s now 19). She said she hadn’t scored a point in the game even though her entire team did, USA Today reports.

“I said, ‘Aves, maybe you’re bad at basketball.’ She thought that was mean. I said, ‘Mean or true? ‘Cause, guess what? Your mom’s bad at basketball, too,’” she said.

Experts: According to Business Insider, experts said that giving harsh advice can be helpful for children.