Drew Barrymore is opening up about some of the mistakes she's made in her past.
On the Monday, March 31 episode of The Drew Barrymore Show, the actress, 50, spoke with Teen Mom alums Briana DeJesus and Mackenzie McKee about not wanting her kids to repeat the same mistakes that she's made. As they all watch the trailer for the next season of Teen Mom: The Next Chapter, Barrymore begins to address the topic.
"In seeing a preview for that show, I saw something that I say out loud too, and it was, 'Oh my god. I don't want my kids to do what I did,' " Barrymore said. "And so when I saw that, I wanted to have a conversation with you guys about that."
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:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc():focal(690x387:692x389):format(webp)/drew-barrymore-show-091123-1-1d4182c292c3442f8f5909368733d020.jpg "Drew Barrymore Admits She's a Hard Judge of Her Own Parenting as She Says She 'Hasn't Forgiven' Herself for Her Childhood (1)")
Drew Barrymore Admits It's 'Very Devastating' She Doesn't Have a 'Traditional Family Dynamic' as a Mom
"When I saw that, I was very triggered in the sense of I'm finally getting prouder of who I am now," she continued. "I am not ashamed of who I was but then when it comes to my kids, it's like I have no grace for myself."
"When I look at my Nova, who is now 13, I see myself," DeJesus responded. "I'm just like, 'Why was I doing all these grown-up activities at such a young age?' I see Nova as a baby, and I was a baby. Why was I having sex at 13 years old?"
"Where were my parents to help guide me in the right direction?" DeJesus asked, prompting Barrymore to add, "I have to hug you. I do. This is so healing and wonderful."
Later on, Barrymore shared that she just feels like she can't let her kids be crazy in the same way as she was.
"It's like a switch flipped when I had kids, and I can't let my kids be so young and wild," Barrymore said. "I want my kids to be kids and to be selfish and live a kid life," DeJesus added.
As they keep discussing their kids, Barrymore explained that she hasn't really forgiven herself yet for her own childhood.
"Actions have consequences, and I think I wasn't willing to blame anyone else. If I had blamed somebody else, I would have forgiven them by now. And I haven't forgiven myself, and it's really hard," Barrymore admitted.
"I want my kids to be kids. I see how important that is now. I didn't understand that growing up, and I want to protect them so much. Putting the time in," she continued. "Being willing to put the time in. I think that's been a huge recipe for me is like keep making that daily investment in your kid. Being present."
"I want to make sure that my kids feel heard. I want them to feel seen. I want them to feel loved. I want them to feel validated because I didn't have that as a child, and I think that's why I did the things that I did because I was searching for it somewhere else," DeJesus replied.
"So for me in my mind, I'm like if I give this to them, they're not going to go outside looking for it elsewhere bc they have it at home. I want my home to be a safe environment for my children. And I'm able to do that and I'm proud of myself for that," the reality TV star shared.
