Tia Mowry Talks Parenting Wins, Tackling Overwhelm & ‘Skibidi Toilet Rizz’

The worst piece of parenting advice Tia Mowry ever received has nothing to do with “sleeping while the baby sleeps” or those other unhelpful tropes all moms have heard at one time or another. Theactress (and mom to 13-year-old son Cree and 6-year-old daughter Cairo) sat down with SheKnows for our latest installment of “Parents Tell All” and revealed that the worst advice about raising kids involves something more profound.

“You are in charge of your children’s happiness: I truly do not believe that,” she states with conviction. “It is my goal for my children to understand that they are responsible for their own happiness. I can guide, I can put them in the right direction, but it is all up to them to discover that happiness for themselves.”

It’s a philosophy that Mowry, a former SheKnows cover star, doesn’t just preach, but practices as well — and part of finding her own happiness is listening to affirmations, a daily habit she feels is most beneficial first thing in the morning. “As soon as you wake up, your brain is very impressionable,” she explains. “So just listening to, ‘You got this!’ in the morning is definitely helpful.”

Meditation is another way she likes to regain her zen when parenting feels overwhelming. She has a “do not disturb” sign that she hangs on her door, but as every parent knows, that isn’t always effective. “Now, do the kids listen? … No,” she admits, “But hey. At least there’s effort there.”

Another thing she puts effort into? The very important maternal task of embarrassing her kids, naturally! “I’ve done so many things to embarrass my children,” she laughs. “It’s my job to, as a mom.” That includes cringe-worthy things like calling her son “bro” and throwing around slang like “skibidi toilet rizz,” among other things. “He’s like, ‘MOM! Stop!’ … He gets so embarrassed.” She reminds Cree that her whole career was built on being funny — a fact that he still doesn’t seem to appreciate. Teenagers, right?!

Hear more from Tia Mowry — including the best parenting advice she ever received, and her biggest win as a mom — in the video.