No one’s really more aware of how unusual Angelina Jolie’s method of childrearing than Jolie herself. She’s well aware that her blended family doesn’t resemble many others, and that’s all before considering the fact that both parents are more or less film icons that tons of strangers globally are wildly curious about. That’s just a given and completely precedes the fact that she has so many children from such varied parts of the world. So as Angelina’s many, many children have grown up and their personalities have become more clarified, her parenting has adapted to fit these developments. Unique situations breed unique methods of dealing with those situations and Angelina’s definitely figured out her operating method a while ago. It may not be much like other parents’ methods or plans, but it’s clear at the base of everything that all anyone wants for their children is the safety and happiness. Pepper that wish some international dealings and an endless, incomparable work life and you’ve got the family that is the Jolie-Pitts. So as out there as some of Angelina’s parenting go-to rules may appear, there’s that commonality at the base. And then a ton that’s different between that basis of parental concern and how it actually goes down.

14 She Mentally Consults Her Late Mother On Parenting

Angelina Jolie doesn’t need to be conducting full on seances to get in touch with her mystical side. She can turn inward and start a dialogue with her dear, departed mother for that. Jolie actively mourns the loss of her mother as a grandmother in her children’s life and says, "I know how much she would have contributed to their lives and I am sad they will miss out on that. I would give anything for her to be with me at this time. I've needed her. I talk to her often in my mind and try to think what she might say and how she might guide me."

13 But She Hasn't Lived Up To Her Ideals In This Recent Split

While the Jolie-Pitt family strove to present an exterior that was oriented to "to protect the best interests of the kids”, the rest of the world has definitely gotten caught up in the events of their custody process. So while statements like, "Angelina is not seeking sole custody of the kids, she still supports the reconciliation of the children with [Brad Pitt]” may reflect how Angelina wants the situation to be, other actions are indicative of behavior that doesn’t quite live up with those ideals. It seems like the personal turmoil has stopped and is now able to precede with the family existing as two separate halves.

12 She Accepts She Can't Control Their Internet Use

Jolie faces the abyss that is the contents of the Internet with a shrug and trust in her children’s common sense. “I think, like most parents, we try our best to insert good stuff and we can’t control everything that they’re exposed to, so we try to ask that they will talk to us about anything they saw that bothers them or that they’re concerned about. You try [to limit] access, but the reality is that there are certain realities to teenagers. And also, our generation doesn’t understand half of what they’re doing with their techs, so they can get around us pretty easy.”

11 Yet No One Has Social Media

The kids understandably have plenty of trust issues when it comes to sharing their lives with the world (since they’ve been doing it from such a young age, whether or not they wanted to) and that might be why they lack the typical teenage interest in social media. Jolie was surprised that, “Nobody’s even asked to be [on social media] actually,” and that “We’re the last family that hasn’t gone on!”. For all the public scrutiny those kids get, it’s really only fair they don’t have to experience embarrassing parental actions over the web. That’s at least a tiny bit of justice.

10 She's Open To Maddox Attending College Super Far Away

Most parents have a tough time wrapping their head around the first-born driving across the country to go to school, but maybe distances are just smaller to Angelina Jolie. Whether it’s the benefit of having plenty of funds to travel or the fact that she really is so well-travelled that she lives in a smaller world than most of us, she’s taken her eldest on those quintessential mom-son college trips. Except it’s to South Korea, and not a few states over like most of us do. South Korea is the nation of Maddox’s birth and it fits with Angelina’s international sensibilities that she’d giver her blessing for her son to experience life there.

9 She Knows The Kids Have An Odd Understanding Of The Truth

It’s not at all that Angelina Jolie doesn’t value teaching her children the importance of truth telling or encourages deception. It’s more that from an extremely young age, her children have experienced being the ones lied about. She explains that, “The truth is that my children have seen things about themselves, even from what’s considered serious news people, that are inaccurate. So my children have a very odd sense of who’s telling the truth and what the truth really is and what they actually believe or trust.” That only makes sense when you’ve grown up with your face on the cover of tabloids with pictures taken when you didn’t even notice.

8 She Lets Their Wildness Rub Off On Her

Angelina’s explained that her babies make her both older and younger- “They can make you grow up, and you do, and they also add a sense of wild themselves.” It’s the part of Jolie’s parenting that many in the media scoff at- her lack of authoritarianism and seemingly establishing herself as more of a friend than a parent. On the other hand, her laid back nature could be seen as enthusiasm to participate in their lives rather than dictate them and the knowledge that they’ll make their own choices regardless of what she does- if not today, then at least someday.

7 She Doesn't Want Her Kids To Be Perfectly Behaved

This quote really embodies what Angelina’s family gets mocked for and gossiped about. In a quote ripe for tabloids to tear apart, she says that, “[My kids] all have a good rebellious streak that is wonderful and curious… I don’t want them to be perfectly behaved little people that just say what’s absolutely appropriate because I say so … they have to find themselves.” It’s definitely a privilege that Angelina doesn’t totally have to teach her children that rules are meant to be followed because many of us can’t afford to mess up, but it’s also clear why she’d want them to be adventurous and open to mistakes.

6 She'll Stop The Car If There's Something Fun To Do

Angelina Jolie was already in the running for coolest mom just by showing up, but she seems like a lot of fun to take a road trip with, too. In one instance, Jolie and little one Shiloh made the unexpected purchase of an eight-foot tall bear being sold on the side of the road. You know those fun, weird things you pass by and vow to stop for sometime? That day was someday and Jolie told the boys manning the stand, “You’re very good at doing your job, sweetie. This is Shiloh, and I’m Angie.” And then Angie paid each boy $50, because game recognizes game.

5 She Introduces Herself To Kids By Her First Name

If that last story didn’t cement Angie’s name in the history books for chillest grown up a kid could possibly meet, take another look. Yeah, Angie (she’s now Angie to the world and the world is better for it) isn’t one of those adults who makes you call them Mr. or Ms. She’s a first name grown up. She probably doesn’t even get annoyed if a friend of her kids spaces on her name and calls her “Shiloh’s mom”. That’s the chill grace of an Angie Jolie. No, she’s for sure in our collective imagination forever an Angelina, but it’s so cute that she introduces herself as Angie.

4 She's Open To Any Plans For Their Future

Angelina doesn’t seem too concerned about the kids continuing on the family business of acting and definitely isn’t going to make them stick around in Los Angeles. Her goals for them seem more amorphous and vague, so long as they’re healthy and happy. She projected that, "In five years' time, I would like to be traveling around the world visiting my children, hoping that they're just happy and doing really interesting things, and I imagine in many different parts of the world, and I'll be supporting them.” That college trip to Seoul with Maddox definitely fits the bill for her dreams, then.

3 She Knows The Public Doesn't Totally Get It

It’s very easy to find someone criticizing Angelina Jolie, let alone spreading completely flagrant rumors. While the star most likely can’t and won’t keep up with everything churning out of the rumor mill, she’s talked about being affected but the very public discussion about her personal life and competence as a mother. Jolie was extremely straight-forward when she stated, "“People wonder aloud about whether I am an okay mother. That is obviously painful because it's so important to me. It's hard to hear that people think I'm not a capable mother and a good person, that they just think I'm nuts.” She's got a point.

2 She's Definitely Down To Be Silly

Bedtime is a family affair, especially when you’ve got enough kids to comprise an audience and everybody loves a good story. It seems that Angelina’s goofing around with her children comes less from a place of being the consummate performer and more of their youth rubbing off on her. Either way, Angelina explains that her household does story time the right way (and it sounds impressive)- "I tell my kids stories every night and I am always doing different voices. There's nothing that gives me more pleasure than entertaining my children.” Honestly, few people more qualified to handle that undertaking than you, Angie.

1 She Makes Sure They'll Never Worry About Her

Some tabloids may claim Angelina doesn’t care enough to discipline her children properly, but at the end of the day it seems that what’s most important to her is that her children never have to worry about her. She says that,"I want to make sure my kids are never worried about me. Even if I'm going through something, I make sure they are very aware that I'm totally fine. I'll stop and make a joke; I talk to them. I never, ever want them to have that secret worry and feel that they have to take care of me."

Resources:npeople.com, vanityfair.com, people.com, wmagazine.com, moms.com