The actress reveals that she will be giving her kids a Yes day once in a year, in which they are allowed to do whatever they want, within reason.
- Jul 23, 2018
AceShowbiz - Jennifer Garner's kids "almost killed" the actress by putting her through her paces in a recent backyard boot camp.
The Dallas Buyers Club star has been allowing her three children to do whatever they want, within reason, one day of the year, an idea picked up from a popular children's book.
"There's a book called Yes Day!, written by Amy Krouse Rosenthal; it's just wish fulfillment," Jennifer explained on talk show The View. "It's the mums saying yes to silly little things, like putting gel in your hair or picking the cereals at the grocery store. All day long, you get to say yes."
"I read it to my middle daughter when she was tiny and she would dream of a Yes Day," the 46-year-old continued. "She would say, 'More than Christmas, more than my birthday, I want Yes Day.' So one year, I just gave it to them, one day in the summer, and they loved it so much.
"It's just silly; it's like, 'Yes, we're going to have ice cream for breakfast,' 'Yes, we're gonna buy a lottery ticket...'"
Jennifer, who shares daughters Violet and Seraphina, and son Samuel with her ex-husband Ben Affleck, admits she is a strict parent, so letting her kids break the rules once a year allows them to live out their childhood fantasies.
They enjoyed their 2018 event in early July, when they used the opportunity to get their revenge on Jen.
"I do this thing with them called Coach Mum, where, if they have too much energy, I make them run around the backyard and make them do push ups and make them do jumping jacks...," she shared on breakfast show Good Morning America.
"So they did 'Coach Kids' - they almost killed me! I mean, I thought I was in good shape! My kids were like, 'Go Mom!'"
The actress, who also agreed to go down a giant slide, which was captured on camera and posted to her Instagram page, confesses the activity day is the most tiring of the year, but she is happy to put up with her children's multiple requests as a one-off treat.
"We had ice cream for breakfast, we had a fort inside, we watched a movie, we stayed up late...," she recalled of this year's action-packed schedule. "It's the longest day of the year! (But) it's one day a year."
