Jodie Sweetin takes pride in raising her daughters to stand up for themselves.
The Fuller House star, 39, recently appeared on the Allison Interviews podcast where she spoke to host Allison Kugel about some of the important skills her daughters have learned. Sweetin is mom to two daughters: Beatrix, 11, with ex-husband Morty Coyle, and Zoie, 13, with ex-husband Cody Herpin.
“My girls have good boundaries; they stand up for themselves and speak their minds,” she said. “Particularly my older one, she has always been that kid that would say, ‘I don’t like that.’ Not necessarily in a bratty way, but like, ‘Nope, I’m not doing this.’ “
“I didn’t get those skills until I was in my 30s. I’m just so proud of how they stand up for themselves and say, ‘This is who I am, and this is what I like.’ ” Sweetin added. “My daughters have very firm boundaries, and they are so wonderfully expressive in who they are. I give them the freedom to be that.”
Still, Sweetin said there are times she has to put her foot down when parenting her daughters.
“Look, there are plenty of times I’ve had to yell at my kids in the grocery store,” she shared. “I know someone is recognizing me or is watching me, and I’m thinking, ‘Look, my kids are being bad and Stephanie Tanner had to yell at her kids in the grocery store. I’m sorry.’ ”
Elsewhere on the podcast, Sweetin spoke about her boyfriend, Mescal Wasilewski, whom she’s been dating for four years, and how she’s been successful with blending him into her family. She said that Wasilewski has done “an amazing job” as Zoie and Beatrix have gotten older.
“At first, he and I had a long-distance relationship. He was in Brooklyn, and I was here in L.A. for 3½ years, and so it was slow and it was nice,” she said. “He was very good at letting them warm up to him and not having to force a relationship.
She continued, “I think that is the hard thing as a mom. You’re thinking, ‘Everyone just get along. I really like this person.’ I’m not sacrificing my kids, but how do I make everybody happy?”
Sweetin has shared a number of photos of Wasilewski spending time with her girls. This summer, the actress posted a snap on Instagram of herself with Wasilewski, Zoie and Beatrix while the blended family attended a Los Angeles Dodgers game, calling it a “fun family night.”
The actress has been open about her journey as a mom of two. In 2019, she launched her own podcast, Never Thought I’d Say This, where she teams up with her best friend, therapist and life coach Celia Behar, to give an unfiltered glimpse at the highs and lows of motherhood.
“Our podcast aims to normalize the real mom/parenting experience with listeners who might feel isolated, compartmentalized and like perhaps they are doing this whole parenting thing wrong,” the pair told PEOPLE at the time.
“In this digital age, where looking ‘perfect’ now seems to be an art form, we hope that by using our own personal experiences, embarrassing parent fails and close friendship, we can take the perfect out of parenting!” added Sweetin and Behar.
