Zoe Saldana's Trick For Getting Her Kids To Listen Is Pure Genius

Some days, I think I'm going to lose it if I have to ask my kids to get their shoes on one more time. Or to not push each other's buttons. Or to not melt down when I ask them to put screens away. It's tough, though, this whole parenthood business. You love your kids and would do anything for them. So why, for the love of all that is holy, won't they listen once in a while? As it turns out, celebrities have the same battles with their children. And Zoe Saldana's trick for getting her kids to listen is pure genius.

If you haven't kept up with the actress' personal life, she currently has three little boys — twins Cy and Bowie, 4, and Zen, 2 — with her husband, Marco Perego, according to Parents. And as much as she loves her sons, she also complains about them just as much as the rest of us do. "I love complaining about the fact that I’m exhausted and I’m tired," the 40-year-old mom of three told Us Weekly on April 7, at the Missing Link New York premiere. (Which, same.)

Zaldana also shared with Us Weekly an anecdote about how she gets her little guys to mind their mom.

Sometimes [my sons] are mean, and the moment you kinda go, 'Be nice to Momma' and … 'I can’t repeat this anymore,' they turn back and they just do it. You repurpose, and you’re kind of inspired and you go, 'I’m so happy I have little boys.'

Hmm, interesting. I'll have to try this little trick with my own kids. You know, instead of losing my ever-loving mind because it takes 10 minutes to put on three pairs of shoes.

This isn't the only bit of indirect parenting advice Saldana has offered. She told ET Online in June 2018 that motherhood has been the "most exciting, most challenging role" she'll ever get to play. She also expressed that it's important not to forget by herself — and her own needs. "Even though you wear many hats, you have to wear your own and make time for yourself whether that’s reading a book or going to the spa or simply just sleeping or cooking for yourself," she explained. "I think it’s super important because we give out so much energy, we’re such nurturing creatures." Saldana continued:

When you have children, when you have a household and you have a family and when you go to work and you’re a boss you have people who look up to you that depend on you, it’s important that you nurture yourself first. So that you can continue to nurture others. So I’m trying to do that a lot more this summer.

You know what? Zoe Saldana has been a mom for about half as long as I have — but I have to say, she offers up some excellent advice. Prioritizing myself sometimes and finding ways to get my kids to cooperate without having to yell are two big areas I struggle with. I think it's time to take a page out of Saldana's parenting book, and be frank with my kids about how their behavior makes me feel — and then go on a long, leisurely stroll through Target— sans kids — with a large cup of coffee.