Supermodel and mother-of-four, Chanel Iman always makes parenting look flawless. From navigating the busy schedule of her older children to perfecting the perfect one for her littlest angel, Capri, the 33-year-old always finds a way to make it all happen. In a recent interview with Parents.com, while promoting the BabyBjörn line of hands-free baby products, Chanel Iman shares some unfiltered advice on motherhood that you don’t want to miss out on.
In addition to their soon-to-be one-year-old, Capri, Chanel Iman and her husband, New England Patriots defensive lineman Davon Godchaux, share three other children: Iman’s stepson, Deuce, 8, and her two daughters, Cali, 6, and Cassie, 4. Parents with multiple children often find it challenging to coordinate everyone’s schedules. However, Iman believes that with a bit of teamwork, everything can fall into place.
“The most challenging thing is figuring out our schedules with our ex-partners so we can bring our families together. We try our best to be flexible and to make it work for everybody,” Iman said. “Together, we’re all doing a good job of raising the kids.”
The key to having everything fall into place when you are trying to make everyone’s schedule click is to “have an agenda, not a time clock,” and remember that every child is different. There is not a one-size-fits all approach to making it happen.
“I’m not so strict. I go with the flow as long as the kids are nice and fed,” Iman said in her interview. “When my oldest gets tired, she says, ‘Mom, I’m going to my room.’ She gets in her bed and she’s out! My stepson is kind of a night owl, he’s the one who needs to be told when it’s time for sleep,” she laughed when talking about Deuce. “The girls are first up in the morning. They’re our alarm clocks, and they play a bit before they come to get me.”
When it comes to finding time for self-care and exercise., Iman recommends that parents get everyone up and moving outside together.
“I try to squeeze in three to four workouts a week,” Iman commented. “Capri sits in her BabyBjörn Bouncer Bliss, and just plays with her fingers or with her little toys.”
She continued, “We often head outside. We try to take all the kids to the park or beach two or three times a week, and spend time in the backyard as well. I’m trying to raise my kids to go outside and jump rope, hop, swim—do all things that I grew up doing instead of just using a tablet or watching TV.”
In her interview, Iman admits that she, like many women, suffered postpartum symptom. She had to remind herself, now she is sharing the advice for all moms to, “give yourself some grace [as a mom]-you’re a supermom already.”
“We have so much responsibility as moms to clean, cook, be organized, and look good, all while recovering from childbirth. But from the first child to the third, I worry less. I trusted that we’d be okay.”
Iman challenges all mothers to make the most of every “mom-moment” because in the blink of eye, children will become adults, starting to live lives of their own.
“I’m soaking up every day, every minute, every second with Capri,” Iman said. “I just focus on seeing all my kids happy. I’ve prayed to give my kids experiences and a life I’ve always dreamed of, and I do everything for my kids. They’re my everything.”
To read Chanel Iman’s interview with Parents.com and its entirety, click here.
Photo: Chanel Iman Instagram; BabyBjörn Instagram
