Charlize Theron opens up about parenting struggles with daughters

The star insists she wants her kids to have an "awareness of the world'. Photo / Getty Images

Charlize Theron sometimes has “real struggles” with raising her daughters.

The 49-year-old actress is the adoptive mother of Jackson, 12, and 9-year-old August and joked that while she is “getting her a** handed to” her as they grow up, she knows that she is not the “only one” that has to deal with the trials and tribulations of bringing up children.

Asked how her parenting style has evolved over the years, she told People magazine: “I’m getting my a** handed to me.

“And by the way, that’s teenagers. I know I’m not the only one.

“It’s a house full of women. And we have great moments, and we also have real struggles.”

The Academy Award-winning star was speaking at the Charlize Theron Africa Outreach Project 2025 Block Party and insisted that she wants her kids to have an “awareness of the world” around them and insisted that they have an “affinity” for her home country.

She said: “Of course I want my kids to have an awareness of the world outside their bubble, and they do.

“I’ve got two, I have to say, incredibly empathetic kids. And they see the issues that we face here in LA.

“They hear me talk about the issues facing South Africa.

“They do have an affinity for South Africa, because I’m from there. But I do think that they’re good people.

“I think we were kind of working in the world of HIV. It’s where we started – HIV and Aids prevention. And it’s evolved over the years.

“But when the pandemic happened, we really had to pivot. And we didn’t know if we were going to be able to do that.”

“And I think it was a great moment for us as an organisation. Because we realised that we can.

“And that’s what we’re doing right now. Just given the environment, climate ... we have to pivot, and we have to do it seriously.”