Katherine Schwarzenegger is always trying to be the best parent she can be to her three children, and that starts with getting “back to the roots” of how she grew up in the ’90s.
“I would say storytime is a really great part of our parenting journey,” Schwarzenegger, 35, exclusively told Us Weekly of her and her husband, Chris Pratt, while discussing her partnership with wellness brand Hyland’s on Tuesday, September 2. “We don’t really do a lot of electronic stuff in our house. So, we try to have our kids be outdoors and be creative and really kind of go back to the roots of how we all grew up.”
The author admitted her love of storytime is one of the reasons she started writing children’s books, including Maverick and Me, Good Night, Sister and her most recent title, the upcoming Kat and Brandy. She and Pratt, 46, make an effort to read to their kids — Lyla, 5, Eloise, 3, and Ford, 10 months, as well as Pratt’s son with ex Anna Faris, Jack, 13 — as often as possible.
“Storytime and book reading is such a big part of our daily routine every single day,” she told Us. “Our kids want to read books morning, noon and night. And I feel really like this is such a sweet time that you know your kid comes up to you and says, ‘Can you read me a story? Can you read me a story?’ So, I’m really excited just being in that space now as a mom.”
Schwarzenegger is a big reader herself and admitted to reading “a lot on parenting” as she tackles raising three kids under 5 years old.
“It’s such a fun time,” she said. “Just to see both of my girls’ dynamic and relationship evolve and then become best friends and just built-in playmates, really exactly like my sister Christina and I were growing up. It’s been really great that the age difference between my three kids is pretty much the same as the age difference between me, my sister and my brother Patrick. So, it feels familiar.”
Schwarzenegger added that she loves seeing her daughters embrace their baby brother and dote on him as he becomes less fragile.
“Right now, the sweetest thing is to watch Ford kind of evolve into more of a person, from like an infant into more of a baby, and also to see him just be adored and doted on by his older sisters is such a sweet thing,” she said. “I really remember doing that with both of my brothers, and to watch both of my girls have this, like, natural maternal instinct and behavior — they’re always wanting to help, always wanting to do things with him and help me and be like Mommy’s little helpers. So, it’s really sweet, and that seems to be my favorite part of what we’re doing right now.”
Schwarzenegger, who has been married to Pratt since 2019, has definitely seen their relationship “evolve and change” as they’ve become parents together — but in a great way.
“I think definitely what I’ve learned from him is just to try to find my inner calm,” she told Us. “He’s, like, the calmest human. I would say him and my youngest brother, Christopher, are the calmest people I know. So, I try to take a lot of cues from him there.”
She went on to explain that she and Pratt “parent really well together,” as they both bring something different to the table.
“We’re both having a really great time and feel really blessed, and then also can pick up each other’s cues when one of us needs to, like, go on a walk or go have time with our friends or [have] grown-up time. So I think we’re both having a really great time,” Schwarzenegger gushed.
In her eyes, however, being a working parent is definitely a “balancing act that doesn’t exist.” Between taking care of the kids and making sure she and Pratt “have time together,” Schwarzenegger leans on family and friends.
“Truly, you don’t know the meaning of ‘it takes a village to raise your children’ until you become a parent and you really value the input, and also just the advice and the presence of siblings, my parents and friends,” she told Us, adding, “I’m really blessed that I have my parents [Maria Shriver and Arnold Schwarzenegger] in such close proximity, and also my two brothers and my sister who really help out and help me with the kids — especially if, you know, my husband’s traveling. But I think Chris and I are going to have to do a little bit of dividing and conquering with [school] drop-offs now, so it’ll be interesting.”
Katherine is teaming up with Hyland’s for back-to-school season and tackling the busy time with natural wellness solutions like the brand’s multivitamin and Cold & Cough products.
“For me, back-to-school is a very new tradition,” Katherine told Us. “This is the first year that both of my girls are going to be in school, because we have one in preschool and one in pre-K. So, it’s going to be a new experience, and one that I’m really excited about.”
She wants her girls to “feel really good and confident and comfortable” while making sure they “know the plan ahead of time.”
“And making sure that you’re setting them up for success and incorporating things like the multivitamin from Hyland’s into their routine to allow them to feel really great going to school and being active and making new friends,” she concluded.
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