Jennifer Garner's Pandemic Parenting Hacks Were Too Much Even for Her Kids

Jennifer Garner is one of our biggest celebrity mom crushes. She’s so adorable and funny and totally a mom friend we would call for advice or to vent. And based on her Instagram posts and videos, she’s been absolutely crushing it as a parent during the pandemic with fun and creative ideas to keep her kids (and herself) entertained during this year of Groundhog Days. But also, her efforts seem really exhausting and not the most attainable for most of us.

According to a new interview with People, after 365+ days in quarantine, Garner’s kids — Violet, 15, Seraphina, 12, and Sam, 9, with ex Ben Affleck — are not as into her creative ideas as they used to be.

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For Garner, adjusting to pandemic parenting meant “putting a lot of gusto in when I can and creating adventures when there are none,” she told the magazine. “Like we started shooting silly videos, which they got tired of before I did because I love the end result and having them forever. They started saying, ‘Yeah, Mom. No.'”

LOLZ. We feel ya, Jen! Our kids are also not as amused with us after spending practically every minute together over the past year.

Click here to read the full article.

And silly videos were just the tip of the Garner-super-fun-times iceberg: The family also came up with different-themed restaurant nights. “First I was the American hostess and then I was the French waiter,” Garner told People. “And I kept changing clothes like Mrs. Doubtfire. We did a beach shack and a deli in New York. We did one roller-rink restaurant where the kids were in the car and I bought the little trays that hooked onto the windows and made burgers. You just want to have a night of fun every now and then.”

Wow! These are parenting goals and some impressively inventive family meals. Garner’s energy levels are enviable. Sometimes boiling water for pasta and opening a jar of sauce is a lot for parents to take on at the end of the day, let alone staging our own American Graffiti drive-in diner experience.

Garner’s new family comedy Yes Day, now streaming on Netflix, is based on the book by the same name about an entire day filled with parents saying yes to whatever their kids want. It’s something her middle daughter, Seraphina, was fascinated with, Garner shared in an Instagram post, and we are not at all surprised the actor was up for it. Honestly, it sounds entertaining to watch as a movie but terrifying to try IRL.

Ice cream for breakfast and skipping chores, totally cool, but somehow we suspect a lot of kids might ask for things a lot more … messy. And exhausting. Of course, Garner seems to have the staying power of the Energizer Bunny. This mom just keeps going and going and going! Have you seen her #pretendcookingshow on Instagram? These posts are ah-mazing.

Read about how Heidi Klum, Angelina Jolie, and more celebrity parents co-sleep with their kids.

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