Eva Mendes' Parenting Advice Is Causing A Stir

Eva Mendes has come a long way since she told Nova 96.9's Fitzy & Wippa radio show (per People) that she never considered the family way until she met partner Ryan Gosling in 2011. "I never wanted babies before until I fell in love with Ryan," the actor divulged to the Australian show in October 2020. "It kind of worked out to where I was 40 and having my first baby... in that way that I had a career and then I changed my focus to my family," the successful Hollywood star shared of her unexpected journey toward parenthood.

In fact, as People noted, Mendes had been on leave from acting for six years as of 2020, during which she had been raising her two children with Gosling as he worked steadily on films like 2017's La La Land, for which he received an Oscar nod for Best Actor. Mendes, who reportedly met Gosling on his self-directed 2012 indie The Place Beyond the Pines, told Fitzy & Wippa she was almost ready to make her Hollywood return. "Now [that my kids] are 4 and 6, I'm starting to feel like my ambition is coming back," Mendes teased of her comeback.

In the meantime, Mendes hasn't disappeared from the public eye in her hiatus, being a frequent Instagram user posting self-deprecatingly funny captions to throwback photos, "meaningless selfies," and in April 2021, controversial debate-sparking thoughts on parenting. Read the child-rearing advice Mendes shared that is causing a raucous on the Internet.

Eva Mendes lit up her Instagram comments on her April 19 post that aligned corporal punishment of one's child to spousal violence. Sharing her "favorite parenting quote," Mendes posted a quippy denouncement of physical discipline reading, "Spanking does for a child's development what hitting a spouse does for a marriage." The statement's sentiment aroused the support of many, like author Dulce Candy who wrote, "Yes! I agree. Every time I was 'disciplined' growing up, I only felt fear and shame. IT never 'corrected' behavior."

Many, however, found the comparison of spanking to spousal abuse too severe. One such commenter maintained the correctional benefits to spanking, writing, "It's correcting before they can reason behavior out with you. Completely different than hitting someone... We raised 5 respectful loving kind kids... Good fruit shows from loving correction." Mendes showed her openness to discussion with gracious followers, responding, "Thank you for a respectful comment. So nice to disagree with respect." 

Another commenter who disagreed with Mendes — pointing out that "I was spanked and now I'm a respectful adult. And believe me, I deserved those whoopings" — prompted Mendes to admit that parenting "didn't come with a manual" and that she welcomed divergent opinions. "We all parent our own way and I have no idea what I'm doing most the time," Mendes continued to the follower.

It is so refreshing to see a touchy subject tackled in a celeb's comments section with such mutual respect!