We love Hilary Duff, she takes us back to a time when it seemed easy to fall in love and every romance was like a fairytale. We haven’t seen that much of Duff these days, but it’s only because she’s taking some time with her child. We saw her in Gossip Girl and she proved to us once again that she’s a hell of an actress. Most recently she was in the TV series Younger and she even has a bestselling book out that she co-wrote with Elise Allen called Elixir. So, she’s still keeping busy. The girl is only 30 years old with her whole life ahead of her so she could just as easily come back a huge hit all over again.

Right now, however, she’s taking care of her son Luca and that seems to be her focus for the time being. She has certainly made her mark in the world when it comes to singing and acting. Now it seems she’s making a different kind of mark with her parenting style. She has come under fire a few times over the years and we have to wonder what is she doing that’s so wrong that people are attacking her all the time. People are quick to criticize when it’s likely that there isn’t one parent out there doing everything right all the time, especially when it’s your first child. Check out these 15 unconventional rules Hilary Duff follows to raise her kids.

She Didn’t Give Her Son A Sibling

Maybe if she didn’t go through a divorce, then things would be different. Hilary Duff like most parents, struggled with their first child because she was learning everything fresh. Her son is six now and the actress has even been criticized because she hasn’t provided a sibling for her son. Haters are just relentless. Duff is trying to juggle a career and also be a single parent to her child and despite what people think, it isn’t always easy for her. “Of course, I want a sibling for Luca,” she said. “But it’s so personal. You're overwhelmed and you're trying your best," she said. Duff has said she will have another child when it makes sense.

"I've gotten over the fact that I'm not going to have a baby that's close in age with Luca.

It sucked when everyone would be like, 'When are you having another?' I'd be like, 'Do you know what's happening right now? I'm not having another.'"

She Speaks Honestly About Being A Divorced Parent

Many people, especially on social media will paint their lives as perfect. They have the perfect boyfriend, the perfect job and when it comes to motherhood, everything is perfect. For anyone that has actually had kids, it can sometimes be a nightmare. We all love our children, but it’s not all sunshine and roses, especially if you happen to be a single mother. A lot of people in Duff’s life have stated how great it must be to get a break from your kids. Duff talked to Redbook about being a single parent.

“Some of my friends tell me, ‘It must be so nice, you get a break from your kid because you share him.’ I’m divorced, and it sucks.

Well, it did suck for a while; now it’s just normal.”

She Celebrates Her Son’s Birthday With Her Ex-Husband

When two people get divorced, it’s not always easy to spend time together after. But some divorced parents decided that they want the child’s needs to come first and they make an exception to the rule. When it comes to Luca’s birthday, Duff believes her child should be able to spend time with both parents. Not to have to pick and choose who he should spend time with. It’s only one day after all. It may be unconventional, but sometimes you have to put your feelings aside and do what’s best for the child. When it came to his fourth birthday, both parents got together to make sure their son had a great day.

“We are so proud of this boy!

You....are magic my little big boy, happy 4th birthday, my heart just explodes for you,” she wrote.

She Still Wants To Work

In this day and age, it’s not always realistic to stay at home with your children all the time. Things are expensive and in order to afford them parents have to work. Sometimes that means both parents. In Hilary Duff’s case she is a single mom and although she probably has the money that allows her to stay at home, she could kiss her career goodbye is she is away from Hollywood for too long. The truth of the matter is, she loves working and she doesn’t think there’s anything wrong with that. But she can’t help but feel guilty anyway. During an interview with Redbook, she said,

“It’s hard to say that you really can have it all. I think you can to a certain degree, but fully loaded, pedal-all-the-way-down is tough. You’re missing out on something, either on the career or on the family.

When I’m really busy with work, I feel extremely guilty.”

Sometimes She Lets Her Kid Have A Good Cry

One time she got a huge lashing of criticism when a picture was posted online by a tabloid magazine of Luca crying. The headline read, “C-Minus Mother.” Hilary Duff has spoken about the moment where she saw the photo and how hurt she was over it. Every single person in the world can attest to their child crying over something they had no control over. It’s sickening that Duff gets skewered in the media because her child is crying in public. Duff said her ex-husband, Mike Comrie, came to her aid:

 “Mike [said] ‘that was so mean, that must have really hurt your feelings.’ Just to acknowledge that our skin isn’t thick and tough all the time is a really good rule for a dad.”

Duff stated that her son had just been crying over a haircut he had. "Everything I do feels judged or picked apart, and the whole world gets to know about it,” Duff said.

She Started Her Child On Formula At 7 Months

When it comes to breastfeeding, it can be a controversial topic. There are some women out there that believe you should breastfeed children as long as you want to. Of course, when college comes around you might have an issue. At the end of the day, it’s totally up to the parents when she wants to put the child on formula. Just like anything else, when Duff made the decision put her child on formula at seven months old, the wolves descended.

"For example, I felt judged when I decided to start supplementing with formula after seven months," she told Yahoo.

These are situations where the people of the world need to mind their own business and stop being experts in other people’s lives.

She’s Not Into Natural Remedies

We don’t know about you, but when our child has a cold, we are pulling out that Tylenol Cold & Flu and handling the situation. We are definitely in an era though where people judge you if you’re not making cold remedies from scratch in your kitchen. It’s a sad world indeed when you start criticizing a parent for doing something we have been doing for decades.

In the case of Hilary Duff, she was criticized for using medication to aid her child’s ear infection instead of going for a natural remedy.

Some of these parents need to give their head a shake. "Or when we got my son vaccinated or put him on antibiotics for an ear infection. People were like, 'You should really try oil remedies.”

Sometimes She Takes A Day Just For Herself

Hilary Duff is huge on self-love and self-care. Many parents out there believe that you have to do everything and be everything for their children. That children always have to come first no matter what. That idea isn’t always the best and it’s pretty sad that taking time away from your kids is considered being, “unconventional.” The best thing you could ever do for your child is to be a healthy and happy individual. You don’t have to be exhausted and worn out just to provide your child with a good life. In 2013, she told People,

“I think asking for help on a tired day isn’t a sign of weakness. A lot of changes have come into your life quickly and it’s important to take time for yourself!

Whether that be a workout, a bath, shopping with friends, or even reading outside for half an hour, all moms should take that time.”

She Doesn’t Do Everything Right

Hilary Duff admits that she doesn’t do everything right when it comes to her son Luca and we think we would be hard-pressed to find a mother who did. She and her sister Hailey are working with Similac to bring about change. To show the world, you don’t have to shame mothers, that mothers need your love and support, not your criticisms.

“I think it’s really isolating — everything just changes so quickly. Your life is not your life anymore. I put so much pressure on myself to do everything right, and so do all mothers.

We think we should have all the answers — we need to breastfeed perfectly or discipline perfectly — but there are challenges every day. I had a baby so young that none of my friends had children. So, I had to learn that no one way is going to work for every single family or every child; it’s about staying in your lane and doing what works for your kids.”

She Doesn’t Have All The Answers

We feel so bad for what celebrities have to go through. If any of us make parenting mistakes, the whole world doesn’t hear about it. But when a celebrity like Hilary Duff does, she hears about it everywhere, including her own social media. This isn’t a woman who’s out abusing her child. She’s trying to navigate the pitfalls of parenting her very first child. She told HuffPost,

“You think because you carried a baby inside you and you’re so close to them, you think you should know all the answers. You put a lot of pressure on yourself. So be proud of yourself and take time for yourself, [which] is not always easy to do when you’re in the thick of it.”

We have to stop criticizing people for things that we all go through.

She Strives For A Normal Household

Hilary Duff wants a normal household for her child with family meals and get-togethers. She has an unconventional job and living in the public eye doesn’t always allow for her to have that semblance of normal. But at the end of the day, she just wants what we all want, for our children to be healthy and happy.

“In our family, we strive for normalcy. We are a normal family with not-so-normal jobs, not-so-normal upbringings. But we have family dinner every Sunday, and our get-togethers always revolve around food.

We love to work out and be healthy and lead good lives. But Haylie and I had the outlook, when we had our babies, we don’t need to race to the gym. We’d rather use that time for bonding with our kids.”

It’s Also Okay to Take a Break From Work

She has said that she feels guilty when she isn’t out working because she knows when it comes to Hollywood, you can be easily forgotten. She used to stress about what was going to happen if she wasn’t out there working. When she had Luca, being a parent helped to ease those worries because at the end of the day, she was always going to be Luca’s mother and that was all that mattered. She told ET Canada,

“Being a mom now has taken so much pressure off the ‘what ifs.' Okay, I’m still going to be Luca’s mom and I still have an important role in life. And I think taking that break made me so human again.”

Taking a break in any aspect of our lives is a good thing.

She Discovered Naps Were Pretty Important

Lots of parents go through the trying stage of sleep deprivation. When the baby goes down for a nap, we think that it’s the perfect time to get everything done that we need to get done. But it really is just the best time to take a nap for yourself so that you can continue being a happy and healthy parent. Like most parents, Hilary Duff had to learn for herself that she can’t do everything and she needs her rest. Duff told People,

“The first week I was like, ‘I’m doing this, I’m good. I can not sleep, I can do this.’ I don’t know where you get that energy from. Then it hits you — the fatigue. So many people were like, ‘Take naps when your baby naps.’ So I tried, and it really helped a lot.

I thought when he was napping that was the time I could do all the things I needed to do. It’s a fine balance.”

She Maintains A Positive Co-Parenting Environment

Just because two people get divorced doesn’t mean they have to hate each other forever, especially when a child is involved. Hilary Duff believes in a positive co-parenting environment where both she and her ex-husband are doing whatever is in their son’s best interest. She states that the two work together throughout the experience and it works best for Luca. “We have such a great kid, and we’re both so obsessed with him,” Duff said on The Ellen Show in 2016.

“We are good friends and we laugh a lot and we have a great communication. We share pictures when one is not with Luca. Yeah, he’s great. We are great and we keep on trucking.”

They are working together to make their son happy and at the end of the day, that’s all that matters.

She Has No Problem Showing Affection In Public

We’re not sure why she was attacked for such a thing. We certainly know tons of normal, everyday parents that are doing exactly the same thing. Sometimes when you’re a celebrity, you are put to a higher standard than the rest of the world, when really you’re just as human as the rest of us. Many people found the photo of her kissing her son on the lips at Disneyland to be inappropriate. In this day and age, we are quick to go to dark places instead of realizing that the boy is four years old and the two are just showing an act of love. Hilary Duff shot back and told people to feel free to unfollow her. “For anyone commenting that a kiss on the lips with my four-year-old is ‘inappropriate’ go ahead and click unfollow with your warped minds and judgment,” she wrote.

Sources: huffingtonpost.ca, today.com