Maggie Gyllenhaal knows a thing or two about parenting after being mom to daughter Ramona for two years. But she’d never want to give advice to other moms, instead encouraging other to find their own path.

“I do think you just have to figure it out for yourself and go with your instincts,” says Maggie.

For her that meant discovering the sound of her daughter’s cries were nearly too much to bear!

“I’m not a leave-them-in-their-crib-to-cry kind of girl. Fundamentally, I didn’t find that worked. Everyone’s got their own thing, you know? You can’t tell another person when it’s right to stop breastfeeding or how to put your kid to sleep.”

Maggie and her fiancé Peter Sarsgaard also believe in equal parenting, so while one parents watches the little one the other has time to relax!

Peter packs up his daughter and accompanies her to “this little class she takes in the morning,” making sure that Maggie takes some time for herself! “He said, ‘No, you don’t come - this is when I’ll relieve you,’” says Maggie.

The plan sounds good in theory, but falls down when Ramona just wants to be with her mama.

“In our case, maybe it’s because I have a daughter, the mom is the mom. There is something about that. But we try. When we’re together - if we’ve been away from her a lot - she just wants to be with me. That’s kinda how she is at the moment.”

Image source: Bauer-Griffin

Many moms struggle to say no, but not Kate Hudson. In fact, the actress admits she used to be a pushover before her five-year-old son Ryder Robinson came along!

“I had to learn to say ‘no.’ That came very easily once I became a mother. ‘Can I have candy?’ ‘No.’”

Kate says she’s a strict mom, following in the footsteps of her own famous parents Goldie Hawn and Goldie’s partner Kurt Russell.

“My parents were very tough and there’s something to be said for that. My parents were really hard on me and yet they are my favorite people in the world and we have the greatest relationship. That’s how I’d like to raise my child. You love them but you have to put your foot down.”

It sounds smart to me!

It’s taken her some time, but Amy Brenneman has finally found the right balance between work and motherhood. When she starred in Judging Amy, the gorgeous star was working 18 hour days, then coming home to be a mother to daughter Charlotte.

When the series was cancelled, she knew she could never go back to that kind of strict schedule. Thankfully she’s got a lot more time now for Charlotte and her three-year-old son Bodhi.

Starring in Private Practice, Amy says she has “heavy days, but then I have lighter days and I can take kids to school.”

In fact, this was the only way Amy could ever commit to another TV show.

“It was either that or nothing because they’re so little. I’m not gonna miss the whole thing.”

What a wonderful attitude. After all, they won’t be kids forever!

Seal and Heidi Klum may have nannies to help them raise Leni, Henry, and little Johan, but Heidi assures us that they’re definitely “hands-on” parents.

The nannies may lend a hand, but the celebrity couple are more than happy to take care of the everyday parenting responsibilities.

“We drive them to school every morning. Leni is … in preschool. Henry has to be potty-trained before they take him in pre-K, and Johan’s turn comes next,” Heidi explained in the latest issue of Parade.

And the transformation of their backyard into kiddie heaven is evidence of their commitment to their growing brood.

“We have a colorful and beautiful backyard with toys all over the place and a pool full of toys and a tennis court covered with tennis balls,” she said.

Sounds like a fun place to live!

Melanie Chisholm receives tons of parenting advice from her friends, including all the other Spice Girls. But Mel C says there’s only one person she’ll listen to: her mother!

Mel says while she’s grateful that everyone wants to help, “I’m sticking with my mum.”

Mel admitted it’s still a struggle to adjust to her expectant status.

“I used to love the fact that I was the only Spice Girl who didn’t need to lug around loads of baby stuff. Mad, innit? Me a mum.”

Mad indeed!

In her new autobiography Let’s Talk About Pep, Sandy “Pepa” Denton has been open about the abuse she suffered during her childhood and at the hands of ex-husband Anthony “Treach” Criss. But the mom of two is determined to end the cycle with her children Egypt and Tyran.

“People forget that verbal abuse is equally unhealthy [as physical abuse],” she told Essence magazine. “My kids used to see me crying and depressed all the time, and that can affect kids as well.”

Pepa said the abuse has made daughter Egypt, who turns 10 next week, very sensitive to her mommy’s moods.

“Now, if I get a little down or sad and my daughter notices and asks whether I’m okay, I say, ‘Yes, I’m fine. Mommy’s just trying to figure something out.’ She doesn’t like it when I act antsy or confused, so I have to say to myself, ‘Okay, let me relax.’”

Pepa said she’s raised 18-year-old Tyran to be “a really decent guy.

“I constantly talk to him about how to treat a woman…He tells me everything.”

She’s also made sure to keep the lines of communication open with Egypt.

“Because of the molestation I experienced as a child, I feel nervous for [Egypt], so I make sure to ask her those questions … I always have to tell her that she has to tell me if anyone bothers her, and that I won’t be mad at her because I love her, because silence kills and people who abuse depend on their victim’s silence as a tool to continue to victimize others.”

Pep’s gone through an awful lot, so it’s wonderful to see she’s so vigilant to ensure her kids don’t suffer the same way.

Jada Pinkett Smith admits that her mini-celebrity kids are exposed to a lot of the adult world at a very young age. But she’s determined that Willow, Jaden, and Trey will stay on the straight and narrow.

She’s particularly concerned by the messages her boys receive through hip-hop music and films.

“I think as mothers, with the music and the media out there, we really have to sit our boys down and tell them, ‘That is not okay,’” she told Capitol File Magazine. She said she hopes “to teach my sons a different thought process when it comes to how they view women.”

The negative media messages girls get also make life difficult, and Jada admits she has “to constantly reassure my daughter that she is beautiful.”

Jada’s also raising her children to understand both parents share the responsibilities inside and outside the home.

“It’s funny because I remember telling my kids, ‘Mommy isn’t going to be doing any more movies this year.’ You know what they said? ‘But how are we going to pay the bills?’ It was cute, but more important, they see a household where both parents contribute.”

It sounds like those kids are managing to stay grounded despite the industry they’re in. But with great parents like Will Smith and Jada, it’s not hard to see why!

Ashlee Simpson’s getting ever closer to her due date, and hubby Pete Wentz couldn’t be more excited! He told People magazine that he’s busily collecting all the parenting advice he can.

“The best advice my dad has given me was, go with your gut. And he said you can’t really have expectations. If I have expectations that he’s [the baby's] going to be a rock star, I’m sure he’ll come out being into sports, and if I have expectations that he’ll be into sports then he’ll be into math or something. I’m just going into taking it one step at a time, and I’m just excited to meet the baby.”

Pete was quick to quash the rumors surrounding the baby’s gender, adding that he’s looking forward to a delivery surprise.

“Contrary to the stories out there, we don’t know the sex of the baby. I’m a person that always likes to be surprised, so I like to wait for the surprise.”

As a father to two boys, Magnus and Mattius, comedian Will Ferrell knows a thing of two about parenting. He shared some words of wisdom with the readers of Parade.

“Don’t let them play in abandoned refrigerators,” the 41-year-old suggests.

He also says that when you travel, you should make sure you “travel as a family.

“If you’re flying with your children, it’s better to book them on the same flight as you and not on a separate one just so they can have more leg room or something.”

Definitely words to live by!

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Tori Spelling’s memoir sTORI Telling was a massive hit, so it’s hardly surprising that the new mom is preparing to put pen to paper again. She’s agreed to write a follow-up book which has the working title of Mommywood.

As you’d expect, the book will focus on Tori’s life as an actress and mother to one-year-old Liam Aaron and newborn Stella Doreen.

“Being a mom of two beautiful babies, I’m excited to share more stories as I embark on this new chapter of my life,” she told US magazine.

Tori’s publishers Simon Spotlight Entertainment hope to release the book next April. How Tori will find time to write a book by then with two little ones I don’t know, but I wish her luck!