Kristen Bell Fesses Up To Something All Parents Have Done

Kristen Bell admits to faking sleep to avoid early-morning parenting, and who can blame her

We’ve all been there, we’ve all done that, or something equivalent. We’ve all ignored the parenting bell from time to time, if only for a few minutes. Just because Kristen Bell is a celebrity doesn’t make her immune.

The Bad Moms star, who has a three-year-old (Lincoln) and a 19-month-old (Delta) recently revealed her secret shame while doing press for her new movie. In an article on Redbook, one half of Frozen’s dynamic duo admitted to faking sleep to avoid dealing with her baby. Having two kids under the age of four has a way of bringing even most glamorous, most together parents down into the muck every once in a while.

“[My baby] woke up at six in the morning and my husband, the toddler, and I all pretended to be asleep for probably 30 or 40 minutes,” the actress said. “And finally, I hear the baby reaching towards my purse and going, ‘Mama, mama…bar, please, please. Bar.'”

“I got up, handed her the Greens Bar — it’s a healthy bar she can eat — I opened it up, gave it to her in the crib and went back to bed,” she continued. “And we all woke up around eight.”

Well played, Veronica Mars. Well played. What parent can’t relate to that? And she made it to eight o’clock? She deserves applause, not shame. When you have kids, sleep is at a premium, and sometimes you’ll do anything to get a little bit more of that sweet, sweet slumber. Even if it means ignoring your infant.

I have a six month old, and I’d fake being in a coma for the next year and a half if it meant I could get away with not having to empty the diaper genie or clean up another blowout. Just this morning I feigned a few snores in the hopes that my wife would get up and change the baby, and maybe make some coffee while she’s at it? Unfortunately, she has a stronger game face than I do, because suddenly her fake snores overpowered mine and I was forced to pull myself out of bed, be the responsible one, and feed my children.

As parents, we all do some things we’re not exactly proud of. Maybe we get a little lax with the screen time restrictions, maybe we buy a few too many happy meals, maybe we throw out a little white lie to make things easier. It happens. You gotta do what you gotta do to get by. Including keeping your eyes clenched shut a little tighter some mornings. Parenting is demanding, and it’s 24/7/365. There’s no shame in taking a little shortcut every now and again. The last thing any of us should do, celebrity or not, is feel guilty about that.

So take a cue from Princess Anna and the next time you start to feel like a bad mom (or dad), be like Kristen and (wait for it) let it go.