Down-to-Earth Parenting Tips from the Stars

Singer Britney Spears arrives at the grand opening of the LAX Nightclub at the Luxor Resort & Casino early September 1, 2007 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images) — Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images

Britney Spears is seen at the opening of LAX nightclub in Las Vegas in 2007.

Spears told Hello! magazine, according to Britain's Mirror, that parenting is "all about history. What we as mothers are doing is creating history with our kids that we can look back on."

She added of her sons, Sean Preston and Jayden James, "When they're adults I want my kids to say 'Mum worked so hard, but she was always there for us.'"

Britney Spears in Hello
Stars and Their Moms

Katie Holmes

Katie Holmes told Glamour magazine in 2009 that being daughter Suri's mom is "amazing."

She added, "In an instant you become strong. You have to be a little bit wiser; it's the most important job in the world."

Katie Holmes in Glamour
Stars and Their Moms

Angelina Jolie

Angelina Jolie told People magazine that she and partner Brad Pitt have different parenting styles when it comes to their children, Maddox, Pax, Zahara, Shiloh, Knox, and Vivienne: "I am the disciplinarian," she says. "Brad can be, but if Z doesn't get the bottle from me, she'll very quickly run to Daddy."

Angelina Jolie in People
Stars and Their Moms

Jennifer Garner

Actress Jennifer Garner, seen here reading to children at a head start program in Washington, in 2009, promotes early childhood education with the group Save The Children.

As for her own girls, Violet and Seraphina, she told Parade magazine, "I'm privileged, because I have a lot of freedom. I want to use it to make as warm and normal a life as I can for our daughters."

Garner told the magazine she likes to make breakfast, pack lunches, and bake homemade bread.

"It's fun," she said. "It's what my mother did. She made every meal."

Jennifer Garner in Parade
Stars and Their Moms

Tori Spelling

For Tori Spelling and her kids, daughter, Stella and son Liam (not pictured), it's all about listening.

Spelling told Parenting.com, "I always try to listen to them. And, yes, having two is definitely a handful but the wonderful thing, I find, is seeing them interact with each other."

Spelling in Parenting.com
Stars and Their Moms

Christina Aguilera

Singer Christina Aguilera isn't a pushover when it comes to her son Max. She told TV personality Billy Bush, "No child is terrible. When you're (in the terrible twos) you're just learning how to express yourself and balance all these emotions and feelings."

She added, "I'm definitely an understanding mom ... but discipline is a big thing for me too. I'm not raising no brat!"

Aguilera talks to Billy Bush
Stars and Their Moms

Sarah Jessica Parker

For actress Sarah Jessica Parker, appreciating the small things is the key: "Babies always smell good, and even a wet diaper smells good to me," she said on "The Early Show." "I love it. It's warm."

Parker is a full-time mother of three. Parker and her husband, actor Matthew Broderick, recently had twins, Marion Loretta Elwell and Tabitha Hodge, via a surrogate. Parker and Broderick also have a son, James Wilkie.

SJP on "The Early Show"
Stars and Their Moms

Reese Witherspoon

Reese Witherspoon, pictured here in 2008, told the entertainment and fashion website Exposay, though being a mom can be hectic, it's important to be there as much as possible for your kids.

She said, "Like every working parent, I sometimes feel that there are not enough hours in the day. But overall, I'm very fortunate that my job has a lot of flexibility. I spend a lot of time with the kids, just around the house. They're still pretty young, so I feel like what I can mostly do is listen to them and be there for them."

Witherspoon has two children, Ava and Deacon, with ex-husband Phillippe.

Witherspoon on Exposay
Stars and Their Moms

Michelle Obama

First lady Michelle Obama told Good Housekeeping magazine that parenting isn't always what you think it will be.

"I think parenting has so much to do with common sense and patience and remaining open," she said. "That's another thing that my kids have taught me: to be completely open; to try not to steer the ship so much that you break the wheel. And kids force you to do that because they come into this world with completely different personalities in a way that I never thought. So there's something that I learned with one child, and another different thing that I learned when I had the second."

Michelle is seen here with her daughters, Sasha and Malia Obama, during the Easter Egg Roll at the White House on April 5, 2010, in Washington.

Obama in Good Housekeeping
Stars and Their Moms

Chris O'Donnell

For actor Chris O'Donnell, pictured here with daughter Lily - one of his five kids - love is what it's all about as a parent.

"I think anyone who has kids, you know how strong that bond is," O'Donnell said on "The Early Show." "You love your family, love your parents, when you have children, it's a different level."

O'Donnell on "The Early Show"

Sandra Bullock

For new mom Sandra Bullock, being a fit parent is what's important. In an interview, the Oscar-winning actress said she cried when she was deemed a fit parent to adopt her son, Louis, whom she reportedly calls her "Cajun cookie."

Sandra Bullock in the L.A. Times
Stars and Their Moms

Madonna

Madonna, right, walks through Heathrow Airport with her adopted children Mercy James, right, and David Banda, left, on Monday March 29, 2010.

According to OK magazine, when Madonna was asked about the recently publicized troubles of Lindsay Lohan and Paris Hilton, she replied: "I can't comment on other people's parenting but it does require a lot of time and effort and paying attention."

Madonna in OK
Stars and Their Moms