Welcome to So Mini Ways, Yahoo Life’s parenting collection on the fun and challenges of kid rearing.
Sonequa Martin-Green is breaking floor as Star Trek: Discovery‘s Michael Burnham, the primary Black feminine captain within the sci-fi franchise’s historical past, however the actress is used to being in command in actual life, too. Together with actor husband Kenric Green, the mother of two is elevating a 7-year-old son and 20-month-old daughter to be respectful and loving little human beings.
“I’m really big on manners,” Martin-Green, 37, tells Yahoo Life’s So Mini Ways. “I’m really big on respect and being respectful in the house and outside of the house. … When someone is speaking to you, make eye contact. When you meet someone, stand up. When someone tries to shake your hand, shake it firmly to show respect. If someone is being picked on, you’ve gotta get in there and do something to help.”
Son Kenric — the grade-schooler shares a reputation along with his dad, greatest often known as Scott on The Walking Dead, on which Martin-Green additionally starred — has “a lot of leadership potential,” in line with his mother. Though she jokes that it seems like she’s some form of army drill sergeant, it is essential for her to show him about taking accountability for himself and those that need assistance, and “show him how to be a leader and also a giver, in every way that you can be.”
That’s to not say the Green home would not know easy methods to let free. Martin-Green credit their appearing backgrounds with serving to her and her husband be playful, artistic caregivers.
“We have a lot of fun in our home,” she says. “It’s a luxury of us both being actors. We’re always incorporating that kind of imaginative play. I’m very crafty; I like to do arts and crafts with my kids as well.”
Knowing easy methods to incorporate enjoyable into on a regular basis routines has helped the Space Jam: A New Legacy star deal with one of many greatest parent-kid battles of all of them: brushing these enamel. Speaking to Yahoo Life as a part of her new partnership with Crest Kids Enamel + Cavity Protection toothpaste, which is formulated with children ages 6 and older, Martin-Green shared the methods she’s used to maintain 7-year-old Kenric cavity-free.
“Using an electric toothbrush was really helpful for our son,” says the actress, who swears by the Oral-B line of children electrical toothbrushes. “It’s fun to play with. … I make it kind of a game: ’30 seconds starts now!’ So it’s [like a] marathon, just so that he can get excited about it.”
She provides, “For us, it was really about making it fun, but also helping him understand how important [dental care] was. It’s not enough to just say like, “that is what it’s essential to do.’ We talked to him loads about what might occur if he did not. And I’m ready to make use of myself [as an example], which is useful, and say, ‘You do not wish to undergo what I went by. You need your enamel to be wholesome.’ Because he is obtained a ton of grownup enamel now and people stick round.”
While daughter Saraiyah is still in the baby teeth stage, Kenric has already figured out how to squeeze the Tooth Fairy dry.
“So it began out at $1 [per tooth]. And then it truly went as much as $5. And our son, being the little genius he’s, was like, ‘OK, so I believe the Tooth Fairy is rising my quantity per tooth as a result of so many are coming in. At first I obtained a greenback, however now I’ve obtained $5. So I believe the subsequent time is gonna be $10.’ We have been like, ‘Maybe, son,'” she laughs, pulling a face. “We’re going to attempt to maintain him within the $1 to $5 vary … however I wrote him a notice from the Tooth Fairy together with the money and he was fairly enthusiastic about that.”
Kenric also gets a kick out of his parents’ acting careers.
“He loves the truth that I’m on Star Trek: Discovery,” Martin-Green says of her “whip-smart” son. “He talks about it loads. He’ll be like, ‘Oh yeah, my mommy’s on Star Trek,’ you realize? Or he’ll be like, ‘Oh, your present, Mommy — Star Trek: Discovery!‘”
As a mom, Martin-Green’s goals are to help her children make discoveries of their own — exposing them to different cultures to encourage a “worldly perspective” is a priority — and to thoughtfully guide them through life’s great lessons. And while she’s a disciplinarian when she needs to be, she wants to move past the “do what you are advised as a result of I mentioned so” approach she experienced as a child herself.
“We did not wish to try this; we did not wish to lean on that,” she explains. “We wished to have the ability to clarify, ‘This is why we’re telling you you possibly can’t do that factor. This is why we’re telling you you need to do that factor. This is for you — on your growth, on your studying, on your maturation, on your life. We need you to be the very best man you might be. So because of this we’re telling you this stuff.’
“Trying to explain those things to him has been really, really helpful because he understands where we’re coming from, and why it’s not just a ‘because I said so’ kind of thing,” Martin-Green says.
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