You probably remember watching her play the popular and pretty teenager Kelly Taylor on the hit series Beverly Hills 90210, but Jennie Garth is all grown up these days.
The 40-year-old is mom to three daughters – Luca, Lola and Fiona – with her ex-husband Peter Facinelli and just reunited with 90210 co-star Luke Perry on a recent episode of NBC’s Community. She’s also partnered with Crest and Oral-B to launch “Embrace It!,” an online guide meant to help parents and kids adjust to life with braces!
We were lucky enough to speak with Garth on being a single mom, raising teens and tweens, and her favorite parenting memories. Check out the interview below:
1. What’s the biggest challenge you’ve faced adjusting to being a single parent?
Spreading myself out enough for all three girls needs, three different age brackets and being enough to everybody. The scheduling is the biggest challenge.
2. What’s the biggest fight you have with your daughters?
When she borrows my clothes and I never see them again. I should do what Kris Jenner did – where you have to sign stuff out. I think I’m going to do that. Her feet are bigger – thank God we don’t wear the same shoe size! Kids don’t take care of shoes some I’m really glad she doesn’t borrow my shoes.
3. What inspired you to get involved with Crest & Oral-B’s Embrace It! guide?
I have a lot of teeth at my house and it’s important to teach kids healthy habits. Taking care of your teeth and teaching them oral health care is a very high priority for me. I’ve always taken really good care of my teeth so taking part of the Embrace It! campaign is important to me.
4. Did you have braces?
I didn’t, but my oldest had braces and my tween will probably soon have braces so it’s an opportunity to share information with other parents out there who are in that area.
5. Did you have any fun tricks to get your kids to brush teeth when they were little?
I did the trick where I hide a little toy behind my back then pretend to brush it out. She stands there and lets me brush and brush and brush and when she spits into the sink she “spits” out the toy and thinks it came from her own mouth!
6. What’s one thing you wish you knew before you had kids?
I wish I knew that I wouldn’t get to lay around on the couch and watch TV anymore ever. I would really have enjoyed that more.
7. What was the most challenging stage for you as a parent?
I would say the toddler years because they are just running everywhere and falling all the time and that’s hard to manage.
8. What’s your best time-saving mom tip?
This is ridiculous – I had a toilet in the back of my car. One of those little fold-up potties. And one of my kids had to pee the other day and said “I wish we still had the toilet in the back of the car!” But she’s like 10 now… I laughed “yea I don’t think your butt would fit in there anymore.”
9. What’s your favorite “mom memory” from when your kids were little?
I think when they were running around naked by the pool and they pee in the grass, that was my favorite.
10. What’s one piece of advice you would give new parents?
I would say don’t get stressed out. Like, when the baby is screaming at 3 in the morning or 4 or 5 in the morning and you just want to fight with each other and it’s really stressful… just take a deep breath and know that it’s not going to last forever. And when it’s all said and done, that’s the best time ever.
Image credit: By Group_Shot_1_Heart_Truth_2009.jpg: The Heart Truth (Group_Shot_1_Heart_Truth_2009.jpg) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons
