Mayim Bialik Says It's Okay For Parents To Admit They Don't Have All The Answers

There will come a time in every parent’s life when their child will come to them with some sort of problem or issue, looking for guidance or advice. There will also come a time when parents will have no idea how to navigate their kids’ problems because sometimes parents just don’t have the answers. Actor and Jeopardy host Mayim Bialik knows this all too well.

Bialik, 46, opened up on a recent episode of her podcast — Mayim Bialik's Breakdown — about how she tries to problem solve with her two teen sons — Frederick, 14, and Miles, 17 — noting that she often simply admits to them that she has no idea what to do.

She explained that being open and honest with her sons has allowed for even more connection and growth between them. The podcast host continued on, noting that wants her sons to know that, sometimes, she does not know what to do, right away, and they can work together to come to a conclusion.

“What I learned to say to them is, ‘I've never been your parent with you at the age you're at with me at the place I'm at in my life until this moment,’” The Big Bang Theory star said. “So, give me a second, because I don't have all the answers.”

The Jeopardy host, who shares her kids with ex-husband Michael Stone, explained that she’s a novice when it comes to this kind of parenting, being very real and honest about her experiences.

She admits that she has “never lived through their childhood with them to know how to handle things.”

When her kids come to her with a problem that “stumps” her, the actress is transparent with her kids, telling them that she “needs a minute because we have to figure this out together.”

Though she is honest with her kids about not knowing what to do every second of every day of parenting, she does want them to know that she knows what is best for them.

“I'm still your parent,” she'll tell her kids. “I still know what I'm doing. We're not besties, but we're in this together.”

Bialik, who is an author and actual neuroscientist, also happens to be lactation educator. When her sons were young, she embraced attachment parenting. She even wrote an entire book on it in 2012 entitled Beyond the Sling: A Real-Life Guide to Raising Confident, Loving Children the Attachment Parenting Way.

In a 2021 interview with Green Child Magazine, Bialik explained why she went the route of gentle parenting.

“Gentle discipline to me is not permissive parenting, which implies that parent and child are peers. It’s more about communicating your needs to your child and respecting his needs at the same time,” she explained.

She continued, “It’s using the same logic with your children as you would use with a boss, friend, or your spouse. Children aren’t stupid, and they feel valued when we treat them with respect.”