Yolanda Hadid wants to make sure her children use their platform for good.
The ‘Real Housewives of Beverly Hills’ star is mother to three models – daughters Gigi, 22, and Bella, 21, as well as son Anwar, 18 – and has said that the one lesson she wants to make sure she teaches to her famous brood is the value of being "good human beings".
She said: "I ask my kids every day, ‘God has provided you with this platform, what are you going to do with it?’ It’s not about posting pretty selfies. I want them to be good human beings who can make changes in the world."
The 54-year-old reality star admits she was "strict" about making sure her children – all of whom she has with her ex-husband Mohamed Hadid – were able to experience a proper childhood, and refused to let any of her brood start full-time modelling careers before they were 18.
She added: "I’m very strict about that. I remember Gigi being 16 and saying, ‘This is not fair!’ But now she hugs me and says, ‘Thank you for giving me those two extra years to grow up, be in my flip flops and play basketball.’ Modelling is a tough profession. It’s not for the weak."
Now that her children are superstars in their own right, Yolanda says her priority is making sure they’re "emotionally stable" as they live their lives in the spotlight.
She said: "My biggest job is how am I going to keep them emotionally stable. We have a farm outside of New York. We ride horses, we have a vegetable garden. I bring them to the farm and remind them of who they are and how they were raised. It’s about going back to our roots and recharging."
And Yolanda won’t stand for her daughters – who have both modelled for Victoria’s Secret – becoming divas.
Speaking to People magazine, she said: "Respect is number one. When my girls started, I sat them down and I said, ‘Listen, there are a million girls out there who are as beautiful as you and deserve success as much as you do. You have to be the hardest working girl and show people you care about everybody.’
"It’s a superficial business. At the end of the day, looks will come and go. And what makes me proud of my children, more so than even their success, is that they are polite and respectful."
Yolanda Hadid ‘proud’ of her children
