Gwyneth Paltrow In 'Good Housekeeping': I Let Apple Skip School For The Beauty Salon

Gwyneth Paltrow recently explained how she balances motherhood with exercise, her career and girls' night out, and now she tells Good Housekeeping about parenting and her marriage while she "digs into a pizza with extra cheese."

Here are a few excerpts; read the whole interview here.

On letting her daughter, 6, skip school:
"I'll probably get kicked out of our school for admitting this, but I let Apple stay home yesterday. I just needed to be with her. We went out to lunch, we went to the beauty salon, we were together."

On her marriage to Chris Martin:
"Marriage is hard. Chris and I have had our ups and downs, big-time. Marriage is way more complicated than just Who gets to control the remote? But hopefully we keep heading in the same direction and getting through the obstacles."

On why they're never photographed together:
"If I'm looking grumpy in public or if Chris and I leave a restaurant separately, it's only because we don't want to encourage photographers."

On trying to shield her kids from fame:
Apple's getting to the age now where people in her class know who we are. The other day I said to her, 'What do you think I do?' She said, 'You're a movie star.' I was like, 'Who told you that?'"

Comments

[jokamachi]

03:50 PM on 01/31/2011

None of this surprises me.

[BuckyJamesDio]

03:17 PM on 01/20/2011

This has been your Daily Gwyneth®. Tune in tomorrow for details on what Gwyneth had for breakfast. (spoiler alert! - there was yogurt)

[shuffleoff]

02:36 PM on 01/20/2011

If she needs to be with her daughter, she could stay home more...just a thought.

[foodle]

01:31 PM on 01/20/2011

This drivel the same day that the survey about poor college critical thinking outcomes hits the news. Is it any wonder the US is so low in the world education rankings?

[durbinlover]

12:27 PM on 01/20/2011

I have taken my son off school 1 day a year to have a together day since he started school. He is now 13 and no longer wants to be seen in public with me, but he told me he loved our days together and he called them magical. So good for Paltrow. Kids grow up so fast.

[tissa]

12:23 PM on 01/20/2011

I do the same thing with my daughter-also 6.
 
They need the day off every once in a while....it is good for Mom and daughter.

[Max Shaw]

12:07 PM on 01/20/2011

At least she's honest. Everyone, even kids, need a day off from time to time. Especially when the parents are working all the time, its a good thing to be able to spend that day with your child.

[Billiary]

11:40 AM on 01/20/2011

Kudos to Gwyneth for not pretending her marriage is all perfect and rosy every day like so many stars do.

[jokamachi]

03:52 PM on 01/31/2011

If I had to listen to Coldplay and pretend to like it, I'd be complaining too.

[Billiary]

11:39 AM on 01/20/2011

I did that once and had a glorious day with my child.

[zest]

11:29 AM on 01/20/2011

I like GP, enjoy her performances. Have you seen Country Strong? very good movie, great belting singing performance by GP, who knew?

[Billiary]

11:38 AM on 01/20/2011

Rent Duets. A lot of singing. Her father directed it. It's a good little independent movie and the first time I had ever seen Paul Giamatti before he became famous. He was fabulous. Huey Lewis is in it, too. The girl can sing. Andre Braugher was fantastic, also.

[jokamachi]

03:56 PM on 01/31/2011

Duets is a great film. Glad someone else has heard of it. Huey lewis was priceless.

[rosey7]

11:25 AM on 01/20/2011

I call them "mental health' days when I keep one of my kids home and make a special day for us. Kudos to Gwyneth for admitting something many of us do. My girls like the same thing, a lunch out, maybe a pedicure or a mid day movie. My boys like the lunch out and a movie. I just make sure it's so something we both enjoy and we are have fun together.

[PC0207]

10:16 AM on 01/20/2011

Just like Gwyneth, I'm guilty as charged! I've played "hooky" with my daughter more times than I can count. She's 16 years old now and our times together are still very special. As a matter of fact, we just had one last Friday, went to see the movie The Dilemma and enjoyed it immensely while eating popcorn, nachos and slurping on a mixed cherry coke icee!

*sn* the reason for not being in school = a family situation has come up :-)

[foodle]

01:28 PM on 01/20/2011

... and the take away message to the kids is, "School is not important. It's ok to lie to get out of things you don't want to do."

[PC0207]

03:07 PM on 01/20/2011

My daughter is an honor roll student, a member of the FBLA, secretary of student government and sings in the school's gospel choir...see it however you want; its your right.

[maribelles]

08:52 AM on 02/02/2011

I think the message is "life is not written in stone, school is subject to our occasional choices, and its ok to make a polite excuse to do something you DO want to do. "

[foodle]

09:30 AM on 01/20/2011

"I just needed to be with her"

Says everything about her attitude ... I, I, I, I, I ...

[sja11]

10:52 AM on 01/20/2011

i think that parents who try to be friends with their kids do them a horrible disservice.

to each their own but the kids who come from those parents usually have a lot of trouble with the word "no" later in life

[SaddieMcCall]

07:34 AM on 01/20/2011

Although I agree with those who are saying 1 missed day of school isn't going to hurt the child's education in the long term, and I agree that it is important for parents and children to bond; I also feel bad for teachers who have to deal with this issue on a regular basis.

One day Apple and 2 other classmates miss school for special dates with their moms or dads, tomorrow a different 3 are absent, then the next day another two. Then you have families who schedule their family vacations during the school year. It is difficult for teachers to keep the class on task with their teaching plan when they are having to keep making up missed work with absent students. I don't consider school to be like daycare. It's not simply a place to be supervised for 7 hours. Teachers spend a great deal of time planning their lessons. I value the work that teachers put in for their lessons. Moms and dads can easily schedule in their bonding time to do something with their child one on one after school is over, or on a weekend, or on one of the many days during school breaks. I'm not a teacher, but I've had many good teachers and a few great ones. Another possibility for moms and dads who want to spend more time with their young child is to volunteer in your child's classroom or school. Let them know that you value their workplace.

[maribelles]

08:54 AM on 02/02/2011

Well, I am a teacher, and this really is no big deal. A hooky day is the point. We dont live in the gulag.

[Ellinorianne]

11:10 PM on 01/19/2011

As another parent of a young daughter, if this isn't a common occurrence, I think one special day with Mom is far more valuable than one missed day of school. Life is short, memories last a long time for children and are priceless. Lighten up indeed people. Money doesn't matter as much as the time she spends with her kids.