Marie Claire UK Marie Claire UK
  • Fashion Fashion
      • Fashion
        • View all Fashion
        • Fashion Trends
        • Shopping
        • Watches and Jewellery
        • Fashion News
  • Beauty Beauty
      • Beauty
        • View all Beauty
        • Fragrance
        • Hair
        • Make Up
        • Skincare
        • Nails
        • Marie Claire Beauty Awards
  • Health Health
      • Health
        • View all Health
        • Fitness
        • Nutrition
        • Female Health
        • Wellbeing
  • Life Life
      • Life
        • View all Life
        • Opinions
        • Travel
        • Sustainability
        • Weddings
        • Money & Work
        • Competitions
  • Culture Culture
      • Culture
        • View all Culture
        • TV and Film
        • Celebrity News
        • Books
        • Royal News
  • Vouchers Vouchers
      • Clothing
        • View all Vouchers
        • Mint Velvet
        • Karen Millen
        • H&M
        • nobody's child
        • ASOS
        • ARKET
        • MANGO
      • Designer Clothing
        • View all Vouchers
        • Reiss
        • THE OUTNET
        • SSENSE
        • Mytheresa
        • Liberty London
        • Selfridges
        • Farfetch
      • Accessories
        • View all Vouchers
        • AllSaints
        • Aspinal of London
        • Charles & Keith
        • River Island
        • FitFlop
        • Kate Spade
        • Vagabond
      • Jewellery
        • View all Vouchers
        • Pandora
        • Abbott Lyon
        • Goldsmiths
        • Beaverbrooks
        • Astrid & Miyu
        • Swarovski
        • Angara Jewellery
      • Beauty
        • View all Vouchers
        • Sephora
        • Cult Beauty
        • Space NK
        • Dyson
        • Clarins
        • Look Fantastic
        • Clinique
      • Activewear
        • View all Vouchers
        • Lululemon
        • Gymshark
        • Sweaty Betty
        • Nike
        • adidas
        • New Balance
        • Helly Hansen
  • NEWSLETTER Signup to our newsletter
  • logoCreated with Sketch.
    Marie Claire Newsletter

    Celebrity news, beauty, fashion advice, and fascinating features, delivered straight to your inbox!


    By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over.

    You are now subscribed

    Your newsletter sign-up was successful


    An account already exists for this email address, please log in.
    Trending
    • Women in Sport 2026
    • Marie Claire Masters
    • Autumn Winter 2026
    • Nail Trends 2026
    • Best Investment Bags
    • Best Perfumes
    1. Culture
    2. Celebrity News

    This is the one word Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds refuse to call their children

    And we totally get it.

    Jenny Proudfoot's avatar
    By Jenny Proudfoot
    Published 2 August 2017 In News

    When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works.

    Ryan Reynolds parenting
    • Facebook
    • X
    • Pinterest
    Share this article
    Join the conversation
    Follow us
    Add us as a preferred source on Google
    Subscribe to our newsletter

    And we totally get it.

    Ryan Reynolds and Blake Lively have got parenting sussed, with the A-list couple being very open about how they are raising their daughters, two-year-old James and 10-month-old Ines.

    Each week expert advice and hilarious family jokes emerge from the A-List couple, with Ryan making a name for himself with his tongue-in-cheek fatherhood tweets and Blake’s tips being quoted over parenting books.

    ryan reynolds

    Credit: REX

    The pearl of wisdom this week came from 29-year-old Blake, who explained how the couple is very careful of what they say around their children, banning one particular word from their family vocabulary – ‘bossy’.

    ‘My husband said, “I don’t ever want to use that word again. You’ve never heard a man called bossy,”’ she explained to US Glamour. ‘There would never be any negative connotation for a man being a boss, so to add a negative connotation on a woman being bossy? It’s belittling, and it doesn’t encourage them to be a boss.’

    You may like
    • Young girls playing a variety of different sports: football, rollerblading, basketball, rock climbing and swimming As a Parenting Expert, Here’s How I Encourage Children to Build a Healthy Relationship With Movement
    • Emotionally Unavailable Men: Jacob Elordi and Margot Robbie in Wuthering Heights Why Are We Still Glamourising Emotionally Unavailable Men?
    • A woman's collarbones with a shell necklace and slip camisole top "Protecting Your Boundaries" Is One of 2026's Biggest Buzzphrases—But Therapists Say We're Using It Wrong

    The hands-on parents are keen to empower their daughters to be confident and independent, with Blake explaining how she hopes to raise her children.

    ‘We’re all born feeling perfect until somebody tells us we’re not,’ she explained. ‘So there’s nothing I can teach my daughter. She already has all of it. The only thing I can do is protect what she already feels.’

    Marie Claire Newsletter

    Celebrity news, beauty, fashion advice, and fascinating features, delivered straight to your inbox!

    By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over.

    We love this parenting advice and we can’t wait to see James and Ines become big time women of the future.

    Jenny Proudfoot
    Jenny Proudfoot
    Social Links Navigation
    Contributing Features Editor

    Jenny Proudfoot is an award-winning journalist, specialising in lifestyle, culture, entertainment, international development and politics. After working at Marie Claire UK for seven years - rising from intern to Features Editor - she is now a freelance contributor to the News and Features section.

    In 2021, Jenny was named as a winner on the PPA's '30 under 30' list, and was also listed as a rising star in journalism.

    Read more
    Young girls playing a variety of different sports: football, rollerblading, basketball, rock climbing and swimming
    Fitness As a Parenting Expert, Here’s How I Encourage Children to Build a Healthy Relationship With Movement
    Emotionally Unavailable Men: Jacob Elordi and Margot Robbie in Wuthering Heights
    Relationships Why Are We Still Glamourising Emotionally Unavailable Men?
     
     
    A woman's collarbones with a shell necklace and slip camisole top
    Wellbeing "Protecting Your Boundaries" Is One of 2026's Biggest Buzzphrases—But Therapists Say We're Using It Wrong
    Anne Hathaway has just announced her third pregnancy at 43
    Life Anne Hathaway's Pregnancy Hides a Much Bigger Truth About Having Babies in Your 40s
     
     
    Latest in Celebrity News
    Olivia Rodrigo performing on stage in a babydoll dress that sparked online debate, later prompting the singer to speak out about the sexualisation of girlhood and double standards facing young women.
    Celebrity News “We Really Normalise Pedophilia in Our Culture”: What Olivia Rodrigo's Babydoll Dress Backlash Reveals About Girlhood
    Meghan Markle in 'With Love, Meghan'
    Celebrity News Meghan Markle’s Sweet Glimpse Into Sussex Family Life Is Going Viral
     
     
    Anne Hathaway attends the premiere of The Devil Wears Prada 2
    Celebrity News Anne Hathaway Has Spoken Out About Her 10-Year Health Battle
    The Prince and Princess of Wales visit the Isles of Mull and Iona
    Royal News Royal Experts Predict a Major Milestone From Princess Kate This Autumn
     
     
    Latest in News
    New Beauty Launches Romilly Wilde / Cécred / Bobbi Brown
    Beauty The Beauty Digest: Cécred Comes to the UK, Romilly Wilde Returns & £22 Skincare Gets Serious
    The Beauty Digest: New Products to Know
    Beauty The Beauty Digest: A Foundation With Infinite Shades, Diptyque Does Bodycare, and the Exhibition Every Beauty Lover Should See
     
     
    Eva Omaghomi
    Fashion After 17 years in the Royal Household, Eva Omaghomi Talks Bringing African Design Talent to Harrods
    New Beauty Products: The Beauty Digest
    Beauty The Beauty Digest: Dyson Does Teeth, Fenty Rips Up the Rulebook (Again) and a Surprisingly Fragrant Week for Dogs
     
     
    logoCreated with Sketch.
    • Site Archive
    • Contact Future's experts
    • Contact us
    • Terms and conditions
    • Advertise with us
    • Privacy policy
    • Cookies policy
    • About us
    Add as a preferred source on Google Add as a preferred source on Google

    Marie Claire UK is part of Future plc, an international media group and leading digital publisher. Visit our corporate site.

    © Future Publishing Limited Quay House, The Ambury, Bath BA1 1UA. All rights reserved. England and Wales company registration number 2008885.