There is nothing conventional about Angelina Jolie’s approach to parenting. Indeed, if she were a regular mom, there would certainly be a great deal of critiquing the way she brings up her kids.

However, behind Angelina’s style of mothering, lies a lot of experiences of hurt and pain. She witnessed her own parents fighting and found it intolerable and unsettling. She wants to protect her six children from the negative times she lived through.

In addition to her rough child is her divorce from Brad Pitt, which has left everyone with emotional issues, Angelina wants to keep her family as close as she can to ensure that they feel loved and that there is some continuity and security in their lives.

She doesn’t believe in rules or school for her children, and if staff are to be believed, then mealtimes and bedtimes are haphazard gatherings, according to Celebrity Laundry. However, Angelina has made a point of ensuring that her children grow up to be children of the world, and that they are fully aware of how privileged they are and how other children are not so lucky. Differences in parenting styles likely contributed to the breakdown of her marriage, with Brad having a stricter outlook on things.

Angelina seems content to continue with her methods now that Brad is out of the picture.

20 They Have Lockdown and Can’t Leave the House

Angelina is one of the most famous women in the world and her children are always in the spotlight when they are out. Therefore, she chooses times when the children have a safe space to live in, and that is their home. According to Moms, they aren’t allowed to leave, but they have the run of the enormous estate where Angelina is based.

Angelina has expressed her hurt over the breakup of her marriage, and has stayed in her home to lick her wounds in the aftermath. She loves to spend time with the children and refers to them as her best friends. She gives them all the attention they need, and maybe it helps her, too.

19 She Doesn’t Like Them to See her Displaying Anger or Being Upset

Angelina had a very insecure childhood as a result of difficulties between her parents. She saw her mother getting very upset and believes it was a negative turning point for her, so she doesn’t want her children to experience the same pain. She has confessed she might cry in the shower on her own, but not in front of her children, says The Richest.

She believes that adults should keep their emotions to themselves in front of the children, and this includes friends and family, as well as staff. She doesn’t want the children to pick up on any negative emotion as she did as a child.

18 She Doesn’t Like Them to See Any Adults Upset

Once again, Angelina’s own unhappy childhood has influenced her choices with her children. She remembers feeling upset when her mother showed she was upset, and she doesn’t want her children to go through that experience.

She recalls that it upset her ‘a lot’ to see her mother cry, and she is determined that the children will not see any adult when they are angry or upset. She believes that the children need to be informed, but that they need to understand that everything will be alright and that their security and safety is not compromised, even if adults don’t know how to deal with a situation, says Moms.

17 They are Home-Schooled So They Can Travel with Her

Angelina doesn’t send her children to mainstream school, partly because of travel restrictions that surround her work and humanitarian work, and partly so they can learn whatever they like. She doesn’t force them to follow a normal curriculum, rather their learning is led by what they are interested in.

She encourages field trips in areas that interest them and has said that she would rather they read a book or went to a museum rather than spend time messing about in class in a regular school. She believes that modern education has not caught up with the times and that children need a broader education than the traditional subjects that are taught in school, reveals The Richest.

16 They are All Referred to by Nicknames

Angelina’s children don’t have conventional names by Western standards. It seems that having boring names is not unusual enough in the Jolie household. All the children are referred to by their nicknames, according to staff who have worked for the family.

According to The Richest, Maddox is known as Mad, Zahara as Z and Shiloh is Shi, although she has expressed a preference for being called John, wanting to be a boy since the age of two. Angelina herself says she is known as ‘Little Mummy.’ It remains to be unearthed what the nicknames are for the other children, but it is likely to be far from their given names.

15 They Don’t Have Friends Outside the Family and Staff

Angelina believes in the idea that family should be one’s friends. She doesn’t encourage the children to have friends in the outside world, and indeed they have little opportunity to meet any as they are schooled at home.

With six children in the family, there should be more than enough entertainment for all of them. Certainly, the divorce between her and Brad led to an insular way of life. However, as the children grow older they may find their own friends as they venture out into the world. Until then, it is siblings or children of staff who are their companions.

14 They Don’t Have Internet Restrictions

As part of her lackadaisical approach to parenting, Angelina believes that her children should be able to research whatever they like on the Internet. They do not have restrictions on the time they spend on the Web apparently. Although, according to Moms, the content is strictly monitored by security teams to ensure that they are not watching anything that might harm them.

So, while their time might not be restricted, the content seems to be. As the older ones are using social media, that has to be closely monitored, in case they see or are introduced to anything that Angelina might not allow.

13 They Have to Call Their Parents at Planned Times

The relationship between Brad and Angelina is so strained that Angelina does not want Brad to have any contact with his children, and despite Brad’s pleas that it is important for them to maintain a relationship with him, Angelina seems firm on this

According to Hollywood Life, things got so bad that Angelina was risking her primary custody because of her reluctance to give Brad access to the kids. When they want to speak to their dad it has to be at pre-arranged times, and initially, Brad had to have a court representative present when he saw the children. Hopefully, they can find a way to maintain a civil relationship for the sake of the children.

12 No Drinking in the House

One of the reasons cited for the breakdown in the marriage of Brad Pitt and Angelina was the addiction to alcohol and other substances, reveals Moms. He admitted that he had a problem and has sought help, but unfortunately it was too late to save his marriage.

Angelina doesn’t want her children to follow the same path, so no alcohol is allowed in their home. Apparently, Angelina has said that she will not allow any alcohol in the house even when the children are legally allowed to drink. She eschews rules in many areas, but it seems that where alcohol is concerned she is standing firm.

11 No Playdates or Sleepovers

Angelina likes to spend as much time with her children as possible and this means that they don’t go on regular sleepovers or play dates like other children. They don’t have the same circle of friends as a regular child would as they move around so much and don’t attend mainstream school says Moms.

However, as Angelina has emerged from the pain of her divorce, she has been out and about with the children more. She has been seen leaving Gwen Stefani’s house with her children after they all enjoyed time together, so there are playdates in a sense, but spending the day at Gwen Stefani’s house can hardly be called a regular playdate!

10 They Eat What They Want, When They Want

According to The Richest, Angelina has been seen encouraging her children to eat bugs and expressed her views about them being a natural source of nutrition during times of hardship. While filming in Cambodia, she fried up some scorpions and tarantulas and explained to her children the best way to eat them. She has previously said that her children enjoyed eating crickets as if they were chips.

Former staff recalled how the children were allowed to stay up late and that they could be found eating candy and drinking soda late into the night. Their days and nights were interrupted by trips out for pizza and ice cream at all hours.

9 They Learn the Native Languages of Their Siblings

Angelina’s children come from various countries. Her natural born children speak English as their first language, but she also has adopted children from Cambodia, Vietnam and Ethiopia. Angelina encourages her children to learn the native languages of their siblings, but they seem to have gone beyond this and taken to learning a variety of other tongues.

She asked them what languages they would like to learn and took it from there, according to Good Housekeeping. Shiloh is learning Kumai, which is a Cambodian language and Pax is studying Vietnamese. The twins have chosen to focus on Arabic for Vivienne and sign language for Knox. Maddox prefers German and Russian, while her other daughter is learning French.

8 Lack of Rules

Angelina seems to have a very lax attitude toward parenting. She doesn’t believe in rules and according to staff, lets the children do what they want to. She believes in letting them find their own identities rather than being dictated to by her.

Brad has said that the house is chaos and that the children will run around from morning until night, and that he believed in a firmer hand than his former wife. Several staff members who left the Jolie household have also reported that there is no structure to the day or night and that the children may be running around in the middle of the night without restriction says The Richest.

7 They Go All Over the World at Any Time of the Year

Angelina has resumed her career after her break up from Brad Pitt and does not believe this is a reason for her to be separated from her children. She takes them with her wherever she is filming and tries to maintain as normal a family life as possible, says Moms.

Because the children are homeschooled, there are no restrictions on term times or a need to be in a particular place at a particular time. The children are free to travel with their mom and she will set up home on location and base her family there as well. She firmly believes her family is the most important thing in the world, and no Hollywood movie career will interfere with that.

6 No Homework or Tests

One of the bonuses of being homeschooled is that the children do not have to come home and do homework or study for tests. Angelina believes that downtime is very important for the children, so they do not have structured tests and are not asked to do any schoolwork outside of the school day, reveals Moms.

She believes firmly in therapy and self-care and not in rules and conventions. The children are encouraged to speak about their feelings and to look after themselves. She doesn’t want the children to be shouted at or told they have to do certain things, and this was apparently one of the areas that she and Brad disagreed on most.

5 They Can Watch All Their Parents’ Movies

According to Moms, Angelina has revealed that she encourages her children to watch their parents’ films, including Mr. and Mrs. Smith, where Angelina and Brad met. She said they found it funny, and that her younger children enjoy Tomb Raider, which Angelina also starred in. Apparently, son Knox thought that Angelina was capable of all the talents she displayed in Tomb Raider!

Her more child-friendly film, Maleficent, is one she says she will enjoy watching with her children the most. Her daughter Vivienne ended up appearing in the film after other child actors were deemed unsuitable as they got upset or froze on set.

4 There is One Nanny Per Child

An indigenous art teacher was invited to Angelina’s house while she was filming in Australia, to teach the children about aboriginal art. While she was there, she discovered that each child has its own nanny.

According to The Daily Mail, while the teacher was working, there were six women around the group of children offering them support and encouragement and checking to see if they needed anything. These were the children’s minders or nannies. This pales into insignificance if reports are to be believed. It is reported that when she and Brad went on holiday during their marriage, they took twelve staff members with them to look after the children.

3 They are Being Brought Up to Respect Those Less Fortunate

Angelina is keenly aware of the juxtaposition between her Hollywood glitzy image and the poverty of the people she works in her humanitarian endeavors. She wants her children to be aware of those who have much less than they do and not to take anything for granted.

She takes the children on her humanitarian trips and claims they are far from spoiled. She wants them to be brought up to make a difference in the world and not to live as spoiled Hollywood brats, according to IB Times. In the aftermath of the trauma of her divorce, Angelina is determined to keep her family strong.

2 There Is No Routine

Angelina does not like rules and restrictions or being told what to do, and she assumes that her children dislike this just as much. There is very little routine in the house and few rules. Angelina likes her children to grow as individuals and to express their own personalities.

There doesn’t appear to be an enforced bedtime, which is easier to deal with as there is no need to get up for school as school is at home! She wants to be her children’s friend and not a figure to be afraid of. She agrees with gender neutrality as well and has not put any pressure on daughter Shiloh, who has wanted to be a boy since she was 2-years old, says Hindustan Times.

1 Almost Everything Is Allowed

Angelina has a fascination with arms and apparently her children are allowed to play with all kinds of questionable things. She is trained in various defense arts, and has a large property on which to carry out her favored sports.

It is no surprise that someone who has starred in so many action movies would favor self-defense, and she has no qualms about teaching her kids how to handle themselves, in the case of an intruder. She believes self-defense is key and supports a homeowner's rights to protect their property and family. 

Sources: Ibtimes, Stuff, The Richest, Vanity Fair