Kristen Bell and Dax Shepard are facing online scrutiny for allowing their two daughters to roam around a Danish theme park for seven hours during a family vacation in Copenhagen.
Bell, 44, revealed how she and Shepard, 49, took a hands-off approach to parenting by allowing their two daughters, Lincoln, 11, and Delta, 9, to roam around Tivoli Gardens amusement park unsupervised.
“We stayed at a hotel that was right on Tivoli Gardens. The hotel overlooks the theme park, so we were like, ‘Are we going to have kids out in the wild and take our chances here?'” she told Jimmy Kimmel.
“They would wake up every morning at about six and swipe their wristbands through the scanner to go out. We didn’t see them for seven hours. They would just run around Copenhagen.”
It wasn’t long before the couple came under fire for their actions online.
Kristen Bell and Dax Shepard have come under fire after letting their two daughters wander around a theme park for seven hours while on a family holiday in Copenhagen.
Tivoli Gardens is Copenhagen’s famous theme park, located in the heart of the city. It is the third oldest amusement park in operation in the world.
“I’m a Gen Xer and while I had and enjoyed limited supervision as a child, I would never let children that young run around a theme park unsupervised,” one commenter wrote.
Safety aside, that’s not fair to the staff and other park visitors. You’re basically expecting everyone else to look after your kids. Hire a babysitter to take them to the park during the day if you need that alone time.
Another poster had their own chilling story after their parents were apparently just as relaxed as Bell and Shepard.
“My parents were Gen Xers and lived this lifestyle. They were very laid back. I would run around the fair, theme parks, and my neighborhood unsupervised or with other kids. I was almost kidnapped on at least two occasions,” they explained.
“I’ve been invited into countless cars by creepy men and followed around stores and events by creepy older men more times than I can count. While I loved having the freedom, I will NEVER let my kids walk around alone in public places like that. I’m lucky nothing has happened to me,” they advised me.
Another commenter was equally critical: “Doesn’t anyone know that there are mass kidnappings of children taking place all over the world right now? Many have taken place at well-known family amusement parks that are well-guarded. I’d rather my children know I’m there to protect them than let them experience risky freedoms at such a young age.”
Kristen Bell shared her stories of easy-going parenting with Jimmy Kimmel, who seemed surprised.
Kristen Bell and Dax Shepard tried a hands-off parenting strategy during a family trip to Denmark. The couple is pictured here with Lincoln, 11, and Delta, 9.
Bell was talking about the family vacation with Jimmy Kimmel, right, who seemed surprised by her relaxed approach.
Commentators weren’t the only ones surprised by Bell and Shepard’s lax approach to parenting; talk show host Kimmel expressed his own surprise.
“And that was okay?” Kimmel asked Bell, laughing.
“Apparently they are both alive, we all returned home,” he joked.
The actress said the freedom she and Shepard experienced as parents was “heaven.”
“We’d just have coffee, play Spades, and around 3 o’clock we’d be like, ‘Did anybody see them?’ And then one of them would run up and need a Band-Aid,” Bell said.
Kimmel still seemed incredulous at his actions, at the possibility that his children would be allowed to roam around a theme park without adults in tow.
“And were they allowed to go on the rides without an adult? It seems like most rides have a rule… well, that’s here, maybe not in Denmark.”
“No, things are very loose there,” Bell explained.
The actress has long been open about her and Shepard’s parenting style.
Bell, 44, revealed that she and her husband, 49, gave their daughters, Lincoln, 11, and Delta, 9, the freedom to roam around Tivoli Gardens, a popular amusement park, unsupervised.
The couple has often employed some unusual parenting tactics over the years.
In 2022, she recounted how her daughters had finally moved out of their parents’ bedroom and into their own shared room.
In an interview with E! NewsThe Veronica Mars star said the girls have “graduated” from the triple mattress they slept on in their parents’ room and are now confined to their own beds.
“So you can congratulate me: we did it, they now sleep in their room in beds next to each other and cuddle each other instead of us,” she said.
The revelation that the entire family had been sharing one room sparked a huge row when the couple brought it up in their Armchair Expert Podcast.
At the time, Bell was also promoting Hello Bello nighttime gummies, which contributed to the conversation around her candid views on parenting.
Sleeping pills contain melatonin, which the actress said would “get rid of them faster and be great.”
The actress said the freedom she and Dax experienced as parents during the trip was “heaven.”
In 2018, Bell caused further controversy when she revealed that Parents Magazine They locked their daughter, who was three years old at the time, in her room when she did not want to go to bed.
“I’m sorry, I know it’s controversial, but we lock the door when she comes in and we stand outside and we say, ‘We love you, we’ll talk to you in the morning, but it’s time for bed now. ‘ And after about 10 minutes, she relaxes. And then before we go to bed, obviously, we unlock it.”
The new bedtime routine seems to be working for both kids and parents.
“We don’t want to go to sleep when they want to go to sleep, so we would plug our Bluetooth headphones into the TV, put on a show, and they would just lie on the floor like they were trying to fall asleep.”
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