Drew Barrymore Grew Up Without Boundaries And It Set The Tone For Her Parenting Today

Growing up in Hollywood without structure can leave a lasting impact on anyone — just ask Drew Barrymore. Now, she's using her experience to shape the way she raises her two daughters, Olive and Frankie. While Drew Barrymore, who looks flawless without makeup, has become synonymous with warmth, she has also become increasingly vocal about the importance of boundaries in parenting, particularly because the child star lacked them herself. The actor's rise to fame came at just 7 years old after starring in "E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial," which made her one of Hollywood's most recognizable young starlets. But, behind her accelerated success was a childhood full of instability and freedom. 

While on "The Howard Stern Show" in 2021, she recalled skipping school, sneaking into clubs, and stealing her mother's car while still a preteen, which led her to enter a rehabilitation facility at 13 years old. "I think she created a monster, and she didn't know what to do with the monster," she said. She reiterated in a 2021 interview with The Mail on Sunday's You magazine that the facility offered her boundaries for the first time in her life, per Daily Mail.

In August 2024, the talk show host shared an Instagram carousel titled "Phone Home," a nod to her breakout role, in which she wrote about wishing someone had stepped in when she was younger. "I wished many times when I was a kid that somebody would tell me no. I wanted so badly to rebel all the time, and it was because I had no guardrails," she shared. As a mother herself, Barrymore appeared determined to make sure her daughters grow up with the guidance and stability she once craved. After all, boundaries can foster stronger romantic relationships, and they're even more effective when placed on growing children.

Drew Barrymore, who is aging like fine wine, has been reflective about motherhood and the emotional toll that comes with it. During a December 2022 appearance on "Chicks in the Office," she admitted that she was once extremely hard on herself over her past while raising her daughters. Over time, however, Barrymore came to understand that her mistakes did not define her; they simply helped shape her journey. "I was so unforgiving of myself when my kids were younger and now ... it's shifted into something very different," she explained. "And I'm having the best time ever. I've learned boundaries." 

One instance where she enacted said boundaries was when she took away her daughter's phone. In the "Phone Home" Instagram post, Barrymore recalled a time when she saw her daughter's text messages and was not pleased with what she saw. "Life depended on the phone," she wrote. "Happiness was embedded in it. Life source came from this mini digital box." From that point on, she made sure that her children's devices were merely an addition to their routines. "I made sure she knew that she was a good person and that this was not punishment on her character," she clarified. Back in 2016, Barrymore shared in the May issue of Good Housekeeping that this tougher approach to parenting was her conscious effort to be different from her own parents: "But having grown up in the opposite way, I'm raising my children with all consistency, all protection. This is my chance to get it right" (via People). 

Through her honesty about fame, mistakes, and motherhood, Barrymore made it clear that the boundaries she once resisted became the thing she wanted most for her daughters, and has given to them.