Kristen Bell knows the tricks of the trade when it comes to child rearing.
The Good Place actress, 38, recently opened up about the biggest parenting tip she received in her early days of motherhood, revealing that she has implemented the “one-finger rule” in her household.
“My toddler is incredibly destructive and wants to touch everything,” she told PEOPLE Thursday at the Moonlite & Baby2Baby Storytime Playdate at Baby2Baby Headquarters in Los Angeles. “One mom told me, ‘Let her touch things with one finger. That way it’s exciting for her.’ “
She continued, “So if she wants to touch a vase that I know she shouldn’t, I say, ‘Oh, I want to touch it too. Let’s use one finger!’ “
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Along with keeping her household unscathed, Bell said the rule also helps give her children a sense of control.
“It makes them feel like they have a little bit of a choice,” said the star, who is mom to daughters Delta, 3½, and Lincoln, 5½, with husband Dax Shepard.
“It’s messy and grotesque and disgusting and lovely and heartwarming all at the same time,” she continued of parenting. “It’s this beautiful paradox.”
As for her kids’ latest antics? Bell said her younger daughter has already discovered the beginnings of her first comedy routine.
“She likes to alter language a lot. She abbreviates a lot of things,” she explained of Delta. “In the morning when she takes her diaper off she doesn’t say, ‘Let’s get this diaper off.’ She says, ‘Take off my diap.’ “
“She abbreviates almost everything, so for some reason her calling it a ‘diap’ really tickles me,” Bell added. “She’s like, ‘I think I have a poopy diap.’ It’s like her first bit.”
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