Kristen Bell on Why She Talks to Her Kids About Drugs and Sex: "I Hate the Word 'Taboo'"

Her game is total honesty.

Dax Shepard broke up with Kristen Bell before they got married
(Image credit: Tommaso Boddi)

Kristen Bell is a hero for our times.

Beyond her stellar acting career (if you ask me, her best role will always be Veronica Mars, but I can appreciate a good Frozen or Good Place moment, too—I'm not a monster), Bell is known for being incredibly open and vulnerable. Exhibit A: that time she shared how she takes care of her mental health with Marie Claire.

She's also opened up many times about being extra honest with her children, including teaching them accountability by apologizing for her own mistakes.

The actress was just named one of Real Simple's Game Changers, and she explained to the outlet that no topic is off limits when it comes to the discussions in her household.

"I hate the word 'taboo.' I think it should be stricken from the dictionary," she said (via People). "There should be no topic that's off the table for people to talk about."

Bell and her husband Dax Shepard are parents to daughters Lincoln, 9, and Delta, 8.

"I know it's shocking, but I talk to my kids about drugs, and the fact that their daddy is an addict and he's in recovery, and we talk about sex," she continued. "There are all these 'hard topics' that don't have to be if you give the person on the other end your vulnerability and a little bit of credit."

On the topic of apologizing for your mistakes, she said, "Making amends and apologizing is an important thing in our family, because humans leave carnage wherever they go. I really respect when someone does something wrong or hurtful and they apologize. I'm like, 'Yeah, right on.' That's important."

Sending Bell all the fire emojis in the world for this.

Iris Goldsztajn
Morning Editor

Iris Goldsztajn is a London-based journalist, editor and author. She is the morning editor at Marie Claire, and her work has appeared in the likes of InStyle, Cosmopolitan, Bustle and Shape. Iris writes about everything from celebrity news and relationship advice to the pitfalls of diet culture and the joys of exercise. She has many opinions on Harry Styles, and can typically be found eating her body weight in cheap chocolate.