Jeannie Mai Details Life With Adventure-Loving Daughter Monaco
Originally appeared on E! Online
Parenting is a journey, and Jeannie Mai's 2-year-old daughter Monaco always keeps things rolling—literally
"My daughter's an adventuress," Jeannie told E! News in an exclusive interview last month. "She's scootering. She's skateboarding. I'm teaching her how to ride a bike right now."
Though they're constantly on the go, the mother-daughter duo enjoys the still moments, too.
"She's also really learning how to do things to self-soothe, which I'm really into," Jeannie continued. "She's into meditating. She's into counting down her feelings until she's in a calm place. That's such a really big deal for me because I learned how to emotionally regulate, like, last week and I'm still just starting. So for us to learn together is so huge."
And that's not the only shared like-mother-like-daughter traits.
Asked about their similarities, Jeannie noted her daughter's "enthusiasm, her electricity and her excitement. She's so emphatic and so excitable. I know that comes from me. When she's got that squeal, when she's got that 'O.M.G,' when she's got that cunning little glisten to her eye that she was up to do things a little differently than I taught her, oh, I already know that's me 100 percent."
Jeannie Mai Shares a Holiday Gift Guide for the Hardworking Fashionista
More from E! Online
Kate Gosselin Shares Rare Photo of 4 of Her and Jon's Sextuplets at Their 20th Birthday Celebration
Travis Barker Shares Never-Before-Seen Photos of Kourtney Kardashian and Baby Rocky for Mother's Day
King Charles III Shares He’s Lost His Sense of Taste Amid Cancer Treatment
Jeannie welcomed Monaco with then-husband Jeezy in January 2022 (he filed for divorce in September 2023). And since becoming a mom, the Hello Hunnay YouTuber has seen a shift in the way her own mother parents.
"What's really great is asking my mom to take pause with the way that she raised me to learn a different way to raise Monaco," she explained. "I didn't think that my mom would be open to that because she's three kids in. Most moms are like, 'Don't even tell me what to do. I already know how to raise my kids.' Like, they think that, and I think that's right in a lot of ways. But I also think it's important to be open-minded to the new ways that you can teach kids. And she's open to that, and I find that so respectful."
It's a path Jeannie hopes to follow herself if Monaco ever has children one day.
"Even when Monaco has kids, I have to be mindful about how she wants me to be a grandmother, and that's really important to me," the 45-year-old added. "So my mom chilling out and not doing what Mamma Mai thinks is right but just doing what Monaco needs is very meaningful to me."
But as she focuses on the present, Jeannie strives to ensure Monaco gets the most out of her day-to-day.
"Right now, what I'm worried about most is I'm making sure that Monaco gets to experience everything there is to experience, especially the things that she likes," she said. "So if it's traveling, if it's visiting her grandparents, if it's taking a walk and counting the different daffodils that are lined on the street, if it's snowboarding, whatever it is that she really likes, I want her to experience it, and then I want to provide as much as she can in that arena so that she can see what she likes and take from it what she wants."
One of the experiences they recently shared together was a trip to Vietnam with Smile Train, a nonprofit that provides surgery and care to children with cleft lips and palates. Jeannie also hosted the organization's 25th anniversary gala in New York May 8.
It's a cause that's near and dear to her heart as one of her relatives was born with a cleft lip and palate, and she learned what it was like to live with the condition.
"Having followed Smile Train's work for their last 25 years, having really understood how dedicated they are to the 90-plus countries that they support, all of the doctors and medical professionals that they really equip in order to do free surgeries," she said, "I had to not only jump on board but also to be a part of this 25-year celebration."
To see more celebrity parents and their mini-me's, keep reading.
Jodie Sweetin & Zoie Herpin
The Full House alum appears with her look-alike eldest daughter (left) and daughter Beatrix during a trip to Jamaica in 2023.
Yolanda Hadid & Gigi Hadid
Like mother like daughter. After becoming a household name on The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills, the former supermodel Yolanda Hadid's daughter Gigi Hadid broke into the fashion industry as a teen and has been rocking runways ever since.
Clint Eastwood & Scott Eastwood
Clint Eastwood's fifth child, son Scott Eastwood, has followed in his movie star footsteps by starring in films like Suicide Squad, Snowden, The Fate of the Furious and Pacific Rim.
Jon Bon Jovi & Jake Bongiovi
The Bon Jovi singer and his third child is his mini-me. Pictured: The two appear on either sides of with the musician's wife, Dorothea Bongiovi, and their youngest son Romeo Bongiovi at the Jefferson Awards Foundation' 2017 DC National Ceremony at the Capital Hilton in Washington, DC. in 2017.
Katie Holmes & Suri Cruise
The look-alike duo is all smiles while attending a 2016 performance of Finding Neverland in the Big Apple.
James Marsden & Jack Marsden
Woah, the Marsden men's resemblance was uncanny at the 2017 SAG Awards.
Kim Zolciak & Brielle Bierman
Double take! The Real Housewives of Atlanta alum's daughter looks like her younger sister!
Cristiano Ronaldo & Cristiano Ronaldo Jr.
The soccer star has the cutest plus-one ever at the London premiere of Ronaldo.
Christie Brinkley & Sailor Brinkley-Cook
Sailor is taking after her mom in the modeling industry.
Kate Moss & Lila Moss
And Kate's daughter is also following in her mom's famous footsteps.
Reese Witherspoon & Ava Phillippe
Here posing for an Instagram snap before the Hot Pursuit premiere in Los Angeles, mom and her daughter have never looked more alike!
Lisa Bonet & Zoë Kravitz
Like mother, like daughter. The two attend the Vanity Fair Oscars party in 2015.
Rumer Willis & Demi Moore
With their matching jumpsuits, sleek hair and glasses, the two look more like twins than mother and daughter! "That moment when you realize you actually are becoming your mother #twinning #imnotmad," Willis joked on Instagram.
Madonna & Lourdes Leon
Pictured here in 2010, the pop icon's daughter is a fashionista just like her mama!
David Beckham & Brooklyn Beckham
You'll get a kick out of how much the soccer star and his son look alike.
Kelly Ripa & Lola Consuelos
The spunky morning show host celebrated her daughter's 14th birthday with this adorable pic. Look at that resemblance!
Uma Thurman & Maya Hawke
Once upon a time in Hollywood...the Kill Bill actress twinned with her daughter on the red carpet.
Jay Z & Blue Ivy Carter
Little Blue stole the show at the 2017 Grammys, and she's totally #twinning with her pops!
Alison Sweeney & Megan Sanov
The Days of Our Lives star and her daughter get in the holiday spirit at Disney On Ice Presents Frozen at the Staples Center.
Lily-Rose Depp & Vanessa Paradis
The mother-daughter pair looked like virtual twinsies (especially with those matching bobs) at the Chanel fall-winter Haute Couture show in Paris.
Julianne Moore & Liv Freundlich
The Oscar-winner and her daughter both rock the red hair.
Robin Wright & Dylan Penn
The nearly identical stunning stars even dress the same!
Lori Loughlin & Olivia Giannulli
The Fuller House star and her daughter are practically twins at the Summer TCA Press Tour.
Daniel Day-Lewis & Gabriel-Kane Day-Lewis
The Last of the Mohicans and Lincoln star's young adult son, whose mother is French actress Isabelle Adjani, made his big runway debut at 2015 Paris Fashion Week, walking into the Chanel show with Julianne Moore.
For the latest breaking news updates, click here to download the E! News App
