Arnold Schwarzenegger, the iconic Hollywood actor and former governor of California, recently shared a glimpse into his unconventional parenting methods, recalling a couple of instances where he resorted to unique disciplinary measures with his children.
Schwarzenegger, now 75 years old, has had a diverse family with children from different relationships. He shares children Katherine, Christina, Patrick, and Christopher with ex-wife Maria Shriver. Additionally, he has a son named Joseph with Mildred Baena. While discussing his approach to parenting on ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live!’, the actor revealed a rather unusual punishment he once imposed on his second-youngest son, Patrick.
The incident in question involved Arnold’s strict stance on making the bed. Patrick’s disobedience led to his nanny making the bed for him, which was not allowed. Arnold Schwarzenegger narrated the incident, saying, “My son did not make his bed. He had his nanny make the bed, which was not allowed. So, I came in one time and the bed was made so immaculately, that I looked at it and I said, ‘Patrick, did you do that?’ And he said, ‘No, I didn’t,’ So I grabbed the mattress, opened up the doors, and threw it off the balcony down into the swimming pool! It gives an example. So he had to, kind of, drag it up, the mattress and the pillows — I threw everything out there!”
Schwarzenegger, who hails from Austria and moved to the United States in the late 1960s, acknowledged that by his own upbringing’s standards, he considered himself lenient as a parent. However, he recognized that his disciplinary approach might have been perceived as strict by American standards.
Notably, this wasn’t the only instance of Arnold using unconventional methods to impart life lessons to his children. He shared another anecdote involving his daughter’s habit of leaving her shoes by the fireplace. Schwarzenegger decided to take matters into his own hands and teach her a lesson. He said, “My daughter would have this habit of taking her tennis shoes off and putting them right there by the fireplace. And I said, ‘I’m not going to go be a servant here. You know where the shoes go, they go into the mud room. Don’t put them here. The third time I said, ‘Okay look, I’ve told you now for three times, I told you I’m going to burn the shoes…so I took the shoes and I put them in the fireplace!”
Arnold Schwarzenegger’s candid stories about his parenting style offer a glimpse into the unique experiences that shaped his children’s upbringing.
