- Kate Hudson, 45, says she isn’t afraid to apologize to her kids whenever she’s in the wrong.
- Instead of being combative with them, the “How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days” actor tries to acknowledge her shortcomings.
- There are several steps to making an effective apology, psychologists previously told BI.
Kate Hudson, 45, isn’t afraid to admit to her kids when she’s in the wrong.
During an appearance on Thursday’s episode of the “Not Gonna Lie with Kylie Kelce” podcast, Hudson spoke about being “conscious of” her own behavior while parenting her kids and learning how to apologize to them when she goes “too far.”
The “How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days” actor recounted a recent incident when she butted heads with her son, Bingham, 13, after he refused to do something she had asked him to.
“And in that moment, I got triggered,” Hudson told host Kylie Kelce. “It wasn’t about him, it was about my own inability to resolve or walk away from the moment that was happening.”
Instead, Hudson said she “became combative” with her teenage son.
“But it happens all the time as a parent. When you walk away from it, you can recognize where you might’ve created more of a problem than you did a lesson,” Hudson said.
She said that admitting to her kids that she could’ve handled the situation better would have been more helpful in resolving the conflict.
Not only that, it would also be a better parenting model for her kids to emulate.
“Sometimes in conflict, you go too far, and you need to say you’re sorry, instead of teaching them that you doubled down,” Hudson said. “And what you find in going to your kids and saying, ‘I could have handled this better’ or ‘I made a mistake’ or ‘I’m sorry I didn’t trust you’ — whatever the scenario — is that connection becomes stronger.”
Knowing when to acknowledge her shortcomings has been a key part of her parenting journey.
“I think that’s the biggest lesson for me, and now that I feel like a veteran mother. Been like doing it for 21 years,” the “Running Point” star said.
Hudson welcomed her eldest son, Ryder, in 2004 with her ex-husband, Chris Robinson. In 2011, she gave birth to her second son, Bingham, whom she shares with ex-fiancé, Muse front man Matt Bellamy. She welcomed her daughter, Rani, in 2018, with her current fiancé, Danny Fujikawa.
Psychologists previously told Business Insider that there are several steps to making an effective apology. These include being accountable, putting a plan in place to rectify the mistake, and being sincere.
It is also important to avoid phrases like “I’m sorry if…” or “I’m sorry, but…” since they reduce the apologizing party’s accountability, Leah Rockwell, a licensed counselor, previously told BI.
“By adding ‘and’ into an apology, you create an easy way to open and broaden the conversation rather than to close it,” she said. “As soon as the word ‘but’ is present, you are operating from a place of defensiveness.”
A representative for Hudson did not immediately respond to a request for comment sent by BI outside regular hours.
