Jessica Biel Talks Raising Her Sons To Understand Periods, Music & More

Jessica Biel may be a famous actor who is married to a famous pop star, but she’s also, in many ways, just a mom of two. Like so many moms of young kids, Biel is busy trying to navigate talking to her young sons — Silas, 9, and Phinneas, 3 — about the big, tricky issues, while also supporting their interests, and you know, keeping them safe and happy.

Just this week, Biel debuted her first book, A Kids Book About Periods, in collaboration with PERIOD., a global non-profit, and DK publishing. The book, she says, is a way to educate kids early on about periods, something she already was doing at home with her sons.

Biel spoke with Scary Mommy via Zoom about her new book, mothering boys, and, of course, the magic of Epsom salts.

Scary Mommy: First up, the book. It's very fun and very informative. How did you research for it? I know you know all this stuff because you're a woman but...

Jessica Biel: I really didn't know specifically details about what is happening... Yes, it's for families and kids, but it was selfishly for me and my girlfriends because we couldn't stop talking about knowing so little about our own cycles. Knowing the gist, of course, because we've been doing it forever, but not really understanding what hormone is bigger, less, or more?

So we just worked with the experts who knew that language. Because I am not an expert. Sure, I'm an expert in my own period. But not really even, I still feel like I'm learning what's happening there too. I love that you said it was fun. It should be fun. That I was hoping, how can we make this fun?

SM: I know you have young sons. How have you talked, I guess to your 9-year-old in particular, about periods?

JB: Some people have said to me it's ironic that I don't have girls. But I actually think for boys and people who are not experiencing a period, it might be even more important for them to understand and how to be a compassionate friend and a support system for their friends at school, their family members, their moms.

So I've been talking to him about little... I dropped a couple of things over the last six months or so. And then just a couple of days ago when I had a copy of the book, and he saw my name on the cover, and he goes, "Oh, you wrote this? This is your book? I said, "Yeah. You want to read it?" He was like, "Yeah." And he was like, "I love punctuation. I want to read about punctuation." Oh, my God.

"Cutie, I love you. It's not about punctuation, but let's talk about what it is about." So we got about halfway through and I really got to tell him, "Yeah, this happens for me every month. I bleed out of my body every month. Crazy. Right?" He's like, "That's weird."

And I said, "It is weird, but you know what? It's going to happen to a lot of people you know." And he goes, "Yeah, and it might be embarrassing if they bleed on their pants."

SM: That's interesting.

JB: So we were having this conversation about, "Well, what are you going to do? Are you going to point and laugh? Because that wouldn't feel good." So we had this amazing conversation about not doing that because it would be really embarrassing. And yet he's like, "I peed my pants at school. That was embarrassing." So he was finding his way through, "Oh, I understand how that would really make you feel really bad. And how you don't want to point and shame people, you want to help them. What would you do? Offer a sweatshirt, ask them if they need help going to the nurse to get a product or something." So we had an amazing conversation. And then we got halfway through the book and he was like, "Can I be done now?"

SM: Has your younger son picked up on the book yet, at all? Or is it so far over his head?

JB: I think it's pretty far over his head, currently, but he sees my tampons and he's in the bathroom with me while I'm in the bathroom. So I'm telling him what I'm doing. I'm like, "Hey, this is something I got to do every month, and I'd like my privacy. And if you're not going to give me my privacy, then I'm going to do this in front of you." And I'm just trying to get it all done.

SM: Totally. Switching gears, what are they listening to these days?

JB: Well, my older one's into Eminem, the old school Eminem stuff. But they listen to a lot of daddy songs. We have a lot of Justin's album playing all the time. Silas also, my older one really loves soundtracks. He loves EDM music. He has a DJ controller, so he's been learning to transition songs. And my little one's favorite song is "Careless Whisper." Bless him. I have no idea why he loves this song so much.

SM: How did that happen?

JB: His lovely nanny sang it to him one night, and now he knows every word. He's a big George Michael fan. He's so cute when you hear him singing it. And they're into the drums.

SM: They're just very musical, obviously.

JB: They are, both in their own way. But luckily enough, the music that they love is not just the super most annoying ever. It's a lot of Justin's music and a lot of things that sound like Justin in that pop R&B space, which is great because I love that music... And now, my older one is a dancing maniac. He's always been a great dancer and he goes to hip hop class.

SM: Oh, fun.

JB: He just soaks in the dancers on stage and Justin himself, and he's got that ability.

SM: I just have to ask you about the Epsom salts... Is that a trick that I'm missing? Are moms missing the Epsom salt bath trick?

JB: Honestly, it's not an everyday kind of thing. That was from my nutritionist who... It's a one-off. If you are flying, and you're feeling puffy, and you want to just detox a little bit, and so much magnesium, and relax, and have a big event with a tight dress or whatever, that's just for a one-off kind of thing. And it was so funny that people react to that. I'm often just... I just do weird things like that. And so my social team is like, "Give us the stuff you do." I'm like, "Okay. It's weird. I don't think anybody should do it necessarily. This is just my weird thing that I do." And it's based on your weight, so it's... I don't know. It was just something to post.

SM: It cracked me up. Then I was thinking like, "Oh, am I totally missing out on something major here?” But we're not all going to Met Gala every Monday, but still.

JB: And I'm also not going to the Met Gala every Monday. But I am an Epsom salt soaker. That's a pretty common thing I do in my life. I don't always do 20 pounds of it, or 16 pounds of it. That's just for those moments where...I just needed that one hack to wear that one dress, to feel that one way.

Interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.