Covid 19 coronavirus: Angelina Jolie's pandemic parenting advice: You don't have to be perfect

Angelina Jolie

Angelina Jolie thinks it's "impossible" to be a perfect parent.

The Maleficent star has children Maddox, 18, Pax, 16, Zahara, 15, Shiloh, 13, and twins Knox and Vivienne, 11, with her ex-husband Brad Pitt, says parenting her children during the ongoing coronavirus pandemic has taught her it's not possible to "answer all needs" all the time.

She said: "Now, in the midst of this pandemic, I think of all the mothers and fathers with children at home. All hoping they can do everything right, answer all needs, and stay calm and positive. One thing that has helped me is to know that's impossible."

Jolie insisted children don't want their parents to be perfect, as long as they can be honest about their mistakes.

She added: "It is a lovely thing to discover that your children don't want you perfect. They just want you honest. And doing your best. In fact, the more room they have to be great where you are weak, the stronger they may become. They love you. They want to help you. So in the end, it's the team you build. And in a way, they are raising you up too. You grow together."

The 44-year-old star also reflected on her "decision to become a parent" when she adopted Maddox from Cambodia in 2002, and said it wasn't hard to dedicate her life to another human being.

Writing in TIME magazine's Parents newsletter, she said: "I remember the decision to become a parent. It wasn't hard to love. It wasn't hard to dedicate myself to someone and something greater than my life. What was hard was knowing that from now on I needed to be the one to make sure everything was OK. To manage it and make it work. From food to school to medical. Whatever would come. And to be patient.

"I realised I stopped my constant daydreaming, instead staying always ready for any break into what I was doing or thinking to answer a need. It was a new skill to acquire."

• Covid19.govt.nz: The Government's official Covid-19 advisory website