Julia Fox has insisted her son doesn’t “work in a labour camp.”
The 32-year-old actress – who has 19-month-old Valentino with former husband Peter Artemiev – came under fire earlier this week when she suggested parents stop buying toys for their kids and buy them cleaning equipment instead so they can learn to be responsible from a young age, and she’s now poked fun at the backlash.
She shared a video online in which she lay in bed with Valentino and asked him: “Do you work in a labour camp?”
As the youngster buried his face in her lap, Julia then added: “The answer is no.”
The ‘Uncut Gems’ actress initially urged parents to follow her lead and teach their children “life skills” while they are still young.
She said: “He is actually more interested in what I’m doing.
“So I suggest that everyone buy their kid a mini-mop and mini-broom and start teaching them those life skills really young, so when they enter the real world they don’t have to outsource for everything. And they know how to do things for themselves. I think that’s really important.”
And Julia suggested “the concept of childhood was only invented in the 18th century”.
She added: “Prior to that, children were just regarded as little adults…
“The idea of childhood was invented as a way to get parents to spend a lot of money on s*** that’s not really teaching your kid anything”.
The actress later insisted her comments had been misinterpreted.
She said: “You guys are really acting like I said that kids should be working. That’s not what I said. I said that kids need to learn skills.”
Julia argued many schools “don’t teach kids trades or any marketable skills” but she won’t allow her son to grow up and “expect that women are just gonna clean up after him and do everything for him.”
She added: “I saw that my whole life, and that stops with me.”