Mayim Bialik's Comments on Raising Children Spark Discussion

TV personality Mayim Bialik's comments on the challenges of finding a balance in parenting has sparked a discussion on social media.

The Call Me Kat star, who shares Jeopardy! hosting duties with Ken Jennings, shared a snippet on Instagram from the latest episode from her Mayim Bialik's Breakdown podcast on Sunday. In it, she candidly discussed common parenting issues.

Bialik, who shares two sons—Miles, 17 and Frederick, 14—with ex-husband Michael Stone, said in the clip: "So many of us get stuck in either placing our needs so far above those of our children that they are essentially collateral damage, without us even realizing it, or making children the focal point of everyone's existence in the room so that we no longer essentially have needs that are being met as parents."

"And we're creating a culture for children where we're essentially teaching them that they are the most important thing in the universe, which is also not necessarily true," she added. "Whose needs are more important? And that's sort of like this fight that I think parenting is in."

Captioning the clip, the Blossom star wrote: "Drs. Alona Pulde & Matthew Lederman take us through their personal evolution toward incorporating self-care, play, and connection into wellness regimens, how to cultivate nonviolent communication, and ways to balance your needs with your child's."

Bialik's take on the challenges of parenting resonated with a number of her Instagram followers, one of whom commented: "Love this! Balance, always striving to show both sides and needs are important."

"This is the most true thing you have ever said," said another. "I think the latter is much more of the problem with child rearing these days. So much emphasis was placed on 'we are not going to do what our parents did to us' that we placed the kids on pedestals to be revered and praised for all the things they do.

"It has been the biggest mistake of my generation. We created monsters who think the world needs to bend to their needs, wants and desires. They have no coping tools and do not respect their elders like we did because we have given them the impression that everything that came before them was nothing but mistakes and regrets."

"Very true trying to find that balance especially as the children get older," another Instagram user wrote. "It's OK and necessary to take our time for ourselves, for self care, to allow our kids the space to grow and figure things out on their own too."

Bringing their own generational experiences into the discussion, one parent shared: "Bring a Gen X kid raised by baby boomers, I find myself overcompensating with my kids sometimes. It's a tricky balance simultaneously healing your own childhood traumas and raising kids."

Highlighting the challenges teachers face, another said: "Now picture that mixture of children (and their parents) in a classroom of 28-30."

Back in December, The Big Bang Theory star Bialik spoke about how she approaches parenting during another episode of her podcast, which she co-hosts with her boyfriend, Jonathan Cohen.

"I don't have all the answers," she said at the time. "What I learned to say to them is, I've never been your parent with you at the age you're at with me at the place I'm at in my life until this moment. So, give me a second, because I don't have all the answers."

She went on to explain that she's "never lived through their childhood with them to know how to handle things," adding that whenever she stumped by an issue, she tells her children that she needs "a minute, because we have to figure this out together."

"I'm still your parent," she said that she tells her children. "I still know what I'm doing. We're not besties, but we're in this together."

Soon after landing her Jeopardy! presenting role back in 2021, Bialik confronted accusations of being a vaccine skeptic following the resurfacing of decade-old comments she had made in her book, Beyond the Sling, published in 2012.

"We made an informed decision not to vaccinate our children, but this is a very personal decision that should be made only after sufficient research, which today is within reach of every parent who seeks to learn about their child's health regardless of their medical knowledge or educational status," she wrote at the time.

Mother-of-two Bialik later clarified that she was not against vaccines, tweeting back in February 2015: "Dispelling rumors abt my stance on vaccines. I'm not anti. my kids are vaccinated. so much anger and hysteria. I hope this clears things up."

And in October 2020, Bialik shared a YouTube video in which she revealed that she and her children would be receiving the COVID-19 vaccine and seasonal flu jabs.

Amid unrelenting criticism after her book comments resurfaced in 2021, the screen star, who holds a Ph.D. in neuroscience, said in an interview with the Associated Press: "I don't regret that at the time I wrote a book about parenting, my kids were young, they hadn't received all their vaccines.

"Now I've been very public and declared that I am a vaccinated person, we're a vaccinated family, we're all vaccinated for COVID. That's part of the challenge of being a public person, and the court of public opinion is extremely significant."