Singer, songwriter, and actor Justin Timberlake, is one of the world’s best-selling music artists with over 88 million records sold worldwide. Jessica Claire Timberlake, a.k.a. Jessica Biel, is an Emmy nominated actress with some hefty theatrical releases under her belt like Valentine’s Day and The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. While the pair continue enjoying their careers, recently celebrating the completion and release of their Hulu show “Candy”, they’re also the parents of two adorable little children — 7-year-old Silas Timberlake and 2-year-old Phineas Timberlake. RELATED: 9 Strict Rules Gwyneth Paltrow Makes Her Two Kids Follow About Diets, Summer Camp & TV We were curious how the couple seems to keep everything together and afloat after so many years, and it’s probably because the parents have some strict rules that they abide by to ensure they raise two capable and successful children.
Here are 9 strict rules Justin Timberlake and Jessica Biel make their kids follow.
1. They will learn about racial inequality and teach racial equality.
After George Floyd was murdered in 2020, Justin went to Instagram to share his thoughts on the subject and how he was handling telling his son, Silas, about it. “We try to teach our son to love and to respect everyone — we teach him that all people are all created equal,” he wrote, “And that no one should be treated differently because of the color of their skin.” Hatred is not something that is born into someone, it’s something that’s taught, and Justin talks about breaking that “cycle” and creating a new one that his child will follow.
2. Gender equality is also just as important.
In 2018, when Silas was only three years old, she started to teach him about gender equality and how to treat, not just women, but everyone around him. “All the time I talk to [Silas] about, ‘You can’t speak to me that way. You’re being very disrespectful. And I’m not disrespecting you, I’m asking you…’” Biel says in an interview with Bustle. She believes that a man’s relationship with his mother is very indicative of the way they treat other women, and so she vows to have a respectful relationship with her son. “He’s gonna hear my words and he’s gonna remember that and he’s not going to treat — this young man is going to respect his mother,” she explained. “If young men respect their mothers, and their mothers put boundaries, that changes who they are when they become older.”
3. There is no shame in teaching them about the female anatomy.
When Silas was three, and surely when Phineas turns three next year, Biel taught him about the female anatomy and decided that there would be no taboo or stigma surrounding sex. At the 2018 MAKERS Conference, she talked about her funny PSA video about the female anatomy with Chelsea Handler and how she talks to Silas about those things as well. “We’re using technical terms…we shower together, and [we say]. ‘This is what I’ve got. This is what you’ve got,” says Biel. “It’s a beautiful thing. You have it and mine is different and it’s cool, man.” Some parents hesitate to talk to their children about sexual topics and are unsure of when to do it, but Biel thinks the earlier, the better. “We just talk about it. I know it’s really young, but I really believe that if you start this early, there’s no shame,” she said. “We have to respect ourselves and respect each other.”
4. Their family won’t be ‘weirdly private’ like other celebrity families.
Trying to navigate parenthood while being two of the biggest celebrities on the planet can be very difficult, and Justin feels the effects of it every day. Timberlake and Biel want to protect their children, but not so much that they feel limited. RELATED: 9 Strict Rules Elon Musk’s Seven Kids Must Follow “I try to be conscious of making sure we can live a life where we’re not weirdly private but we’re conscious of making sure they can be kids for as long as possible,” he said on the Monday, January 25, episode of the “Armchair Expert”. He doesn’t want their kids to be sheltered or have “the weight of somebody else treating them differently because of something that their parents do.” While the pair post about their kids quite regularly, they almost never show their faces on social media.
5. What Timberlake and Biel do are just ‘fun jobs.’
In order to not let the celebrity life get to them and their children, they try to make sure that Silas understands — and Phineas when he’s older — that what they do are just jobs that don’t define them. “The kids at school with my 5-year-old are like, ‘Your dad is Branch,’” he told Dax Shepard on the podcast, referring to Timberlake’s character in the movie Trolls. Shepard had a similar problem with his daughter, and how his wife played Anna in the hit Disney movie, Frozen. “For guys like us,” Timberlake continues, “the hope is that we just keep instilling in them that we got really fun jobs, but it’s not who we are. Hopefully down the road, then that has more weight to it, I guess.”
6. Lead by example — for your older brother too.
The Timberlakes believe that the best way to teach their children to be on their best behavior is to simply lead by example. Behave the same way you want your children to behave, and the same thing goes for Silas being a responsible older brother for his younger brother, Phineas — although sometimes he teases the toddler. “Silas is super excited. Right now, he’s very much liking it,” Timberlake told Ellen DeGeneres in an interview. “But, you know, Phin can’t walk yet or chase him down, so, I don’t know, we’ll see what happens.” The pair set clear and strict boundaries with their children that teach them to be obedient but ensure that there are lines of communication open to them if something upsets them.
7. They make sure their kids understand what it means to be body positive.
Along with teaching them about their anatomy, they don’t want their children to be embarrassed about their bodies, Biel said as much at the MAKERS Conference. They make sure that their children feel comfortable asking questions about their bodies, and also encourage them to participate in physical activity of any kind. In that same interview with Ellen, Timberlake revealed that Silas has grown to like golf and tennis, adding that “he’s fast and he’s active.” The pair often post about how they work out together, so it’s no surprise that they want the same for their children.
8. Biel’s children are going to eat healthily — that means vegetables too.
Alongside being physically active, it’s important that their children eat healthy foods, which is why she partnered with and co-founded the “farmaceutical” company, Kinderfarms. “As a parent, I want to find products that are effective and also free of unnecessary artificial ingredients,” she has stated. “That’s why I am excited to be a part of the Kinderfarms family, a company that shares the same values when it comes to what we give our kids.” The company’s flagship product, Kinderlyte, provides a natural, medical-grade hydrating sports drink for kids that fights against the dehydration that comes from physical activity. RELATED: 11 Strict Rules Angelina Jolie & Brad Pitt Make Their Six Kids Follow Since then, the company has released Kindersprout, which is an entirely plant-based protein shake made for kids. It’s clear that when it comes to her kids’ foods, she means business.
9. Join the family business? Maybe… Not really.
Of course, every celebrity couple has had to come to terms with the idea that their kids might want to follow in their footsteps. While most don’t like the idea and want their kids to forge their own paths, others encourage that thought and help their kids in whatever way they can — the Timberlakes are more likely to be in the former group. When it was Biel’s turn to go on the “Armchair Podcast,” Shepard asked her if she wanted their kids to join them in the entertainment industry. “My knee-jerk reaction is: Oh God, no. Please, no,” she said. “I would so much rather them be an engineer or something.” She elaborated that it was more complicated than just entering the industry and there are a lot of negatives that come with that celebrity. “I think it’s the emotional part that’s terrifying — the intense rejection, the self-worth,” she continued. “I worry about all those kind of things. I also worry about if my kids want to be musicians, the bar is high. And they’re boys so I worry are they going to be like, ‘I can never be as good as my dad.’” However, Timberlake hasn’t really had much time to ponder the idea himself. “Would I want my [children] to follow my path?” Timberlake thought to himself during an interview with The Hollywood Reporter. “You know, I haven’t been able to answer that question in my mind. If [they] wanted it bad enough, I suppose I could teach [them] a lot about what not to do.” RELATED: 10 Strict Rules Blake Lively & Ryan Reynolds Follow While Raising Their Daughters Isaac Serna-Diez is an Assistant Editor who focuses on entertainment and news, social justice, and politics. Since graduating from Rutgers University, he spends most of his free time gaming or playing a fictional sport. Keep up with his rants about current events on Twitter.
