For such big celebrities, people barely hear about Justin Timberlake and Jessica Biel or their children in the news. So it would be natural for fans to be curious about their family life.
Although it can be challenging to learn anything about this part of their lives, as well as their son, Silas Randall Timberlake, we’ve located all of the essentials. Specifically, this list will focus on something that many parents want to know about: how these two stars raise, discipline, and guide their young son.
We tend to wonder about these things because we idolize celebrities, even if we know that they’re simply human beings just like we are. Still, we’re curious to see how they do things and will often try to emulate what they do; if we like it, that is. But unlike most celebrities, some of Timberlake and Biel’s parenting tactics are kind of surprising, especially when you think about the type of energy they have.
Even dedicated fans will be taken aback by some of the entries on this list. Without further ado, here’s a look inside the family life of Justin Timberlake and Jessica Biel and the 20 surprising tactics they use for parenting.
20. SORRY GOOP, NO CELEBRITY TRENDS FOR THESE GUYS
It’s so easy for celebrities to join movements and take part in trends that many consider downright silly. These trends can be bad for their children, especially if they’re based in pseudo-science or lead to the kids not being vaccinated. Of course, celebrities can also choose to name their kids something so ridiculous that the children are bound to change it by their 18th birthdays. But Justin Timberlake and Jessica Biel are not such celebrities. They have made the conscious decision to remove Silas from the vast majority of these trends and even give him a cool but fairly normal name. These two parents realize that their kid isn’t an accessory.
19. KEEP SILAS FAR FROM THE FAMILY BUSINESS
In an interview with news.com.au, 7th Heaven star Jessica Biel said “I would like our baby to inherit Justin’s charm and his sense of humor. There are many qualities I’d love him to get from Justin. But there’s one thing I don’t want for him. I really don’t want him to be a musician.” This is something that Justin Timberlake completely agrees on and the pair actually do their best to keep Silas away from the music industry, at least, away from building a deep connection with it. Both parents see the negative aspects that this life brings and don’t want them for their son. Although Silas will one day make his own decisions, it’s nice that these parents don’t want him in the family business and to instead make a name for himself somewhere a tad healthier.
18. JUST GET THROUGH THE TWOS
One of the best pieces of advice that Justin Timberlake and Jessica Biel have given other parents has to do with just getting through that bad second year of a baby’s life. Everyone knows what the term for this is and it’s precisely that for a reason; babies tend to really be uncomfortable during their second-year thanks to things like teething. Silas was particularly challenging for Timberlake and Biel and therefore they came up with a strategy; endure, because soon it will be over and things will get better. Although there are many tiny tips that can help parents get through this period, the best is this broad one.
17. “COUNSELING” IS FAR FROM A BAD WORD
One of the best things that Justin Timberlake and Jessica Biel do that helps both their parenting and their marriage is to go to counseling together. Although some do their best to stay clear from therapy, it can actually be one of the most helpful things around. That is if the patient is actually willing to be introspective and work on themselves. After all, that’s the point of going. Timberlake and Biel are such people. Whenever they need to tune into one another and into themselves, they go to therapy. This allows them to keep the home as stable and peaceful as possible while doing their best to better themselves for their partner and for their developing child.
16. ADD SOME CREATIVITY TO FRUITS AND VEGGIES
Every good mom and dad knows the importance of feeding their child the right amount of fruits and veggies. Therefore, they know how difficult it can be to get a child to eat what they are supposed to be eating even if they don’t want to. Jessica Beil has a number of techniques that she uses to make sure her child eats the right amount of fruits and veggies and also builds some enjoyment for doing so. She believes that getting Silas to like fruits and veggies early will help him eat more of them later on in life. But in order to do this, she has to get creative. Her best tactics are based around hiding these items in other items that her son is more likely to eat such as stews, soups, eggs, quiches, and even sweeter baked goods.
15. IN THE BIEL-TIMBERLAKE FAMILY, VALUES ARE SHARED, NOT COMPARED
We learned something very interesting about Jessica Biel’s and Justin Timberlake’s approach to parenting, marriage, and life during a recent interview. In the interview, Jessica Biel told Marie Claire, “We have similar values; we believe in loyalty, honesty. We like to have fun. We like a lot of the same things.” In addition to this, she said that both of them are also focused on their jobs and acknowledged that they have to be a bit selfish to move forward in them. But they appreciate the drive that they see in one another and want it to be something that their son has. By having the same values, morals, and goals, the two can be on the same page with each other and more effectively raise their young son.
14. PAPARAZZI LOOK AWAY! SILAS IS KEPT PRIVATE
Unlike the Kardashians, Jessica Biel and Justin Timberlake are among the celebrities who do their best to keep their child away from the public eye. They don’t want paparazzi photographing him or even letting talk-show hosts ask too many questions about him. They want his life to be his own. This will allow their son to grow up as “normally” as he possibly can, given the circumstances of who his famous parents are. This is why it’s very challenging to find photos of Silas on the internet. Although his parents share some photos of him, they are sure to keep his face away from the camera so that he won’t be spotted before he is old enough to make the decision for himself.
13. LET HIM SEE THE WORLD, ALL THE GOOD AND THE BAD
One of the parenting tactics that Jessica Biel and Justin Timberlake use are to make sure their son is well-traveled and gets to see the world through their eyes. They want him to be a well-rounded individual who knows a little bit about how other people live their lives, the various histories of the world, and just how precious our planet truly is. Obviously, both Timberlake and Biel are very well-traveled individuals, so they have a lot to draw upon. They make sure that their son, even though he’s young, gets to gain an appreciation for the things around him, what’s come before, and hopefully, what will come after.
12. TOUR GROUPIES ARE ALWAYS FAMILY MEMBERS
Let’s face it, settling down was not something that Justin Timberlake had to do. Musicians on his level have so many options and adventures to be had in life that there’s little room for commitment and children. But this is something that he wanted and chose for himself. Although he still has a strong life in music, acting, and producing, he makes sure that his family is incorporated into it. This is why he makes sure that his wife and son are ALWAYS included on the touring schedule. This way, he can spend time with his family while making his fans happy and pulling in some dough. When talking about touring, Jessica Biel said, “It is fun to be on the road. You feel like a wild group of gypsies and you’re all in this together. You’re seeing so many new places and I think it’s amazing for our son because he’s hearing new languages. We’re talking about different countries, the names of different countries, what he likes, what he’s seen.”
11. KEEP THE LINES OF COMMUNICATION OPEN
Both mega-stars are more than open about the fact that their family discusses many subjects, even ones that may be a bit too adult for their young son’s ears. This is because they don’t want their son to not come to them if he needs to. They also understand that his happiness and health can depend on whether or not he feels like he can trust his parents in dire moments. Additionally, communicating openly has helped Justin Timberlake’s and Jessica Biel’s union. This ties in with their desire to go to therapy and work on themselves because communication is one of the most important lessons that’s developed through counseling.
10. PLAY TIME IS ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT THINGS… FOR EVERYONE
There are times in Jessica Biel’s and Justin Timberlake’s life where they feel like they just need to crawl into a hole and sleep. This is usually after a long day of work which poses its own set of complications. The last thing they want to do is get up and play. But when you have a little kid, chances are play time is all of the time. Biel and Timberlake know that their son won’t always want to play with them so they do their best to take advantage of the situation as best they can. They also know that these moments of play will not only keep little Silas happy but also bring joy to their own hearts.
9. LEARN TO HAVE AN APPRECIATION FOR A HUMAN’S NATURE
Although Justin Timberlake is more than on board, Jessica Biel, in particular, is a fan of keeping lines of communication open with their son. This is one of the tactics that she uses to keep their son happy, healthy, and in-the-know. When talking to Billboard, Jessica discussed how she discusses the human body openly with her son, who is still very young. She doesn’t want to shut his questions down just because some deem him too young to understand. She wants him to feel comfortable with his own body and have an appreciation and understanding of the bodies of women. This means that she is more than happy to use actual medical terms for the parts.
8. KEEP THE DAY-TO-DAY “NORMAL” AND KINDA DULL
How do you raise a child when he or she has access to everything they could possibly want? Well, theoretically, you could do what the Kardashians do and make that little kid a star and sort of an accessory to your own stardom. Or, you can do what celebrities like Justin Timberlake and Jessica Biel do with their son, Silas. The pair of Hollywood stars make sure that their son’s daily life is kept as “normal” as possible. This even means that it can be quite boring. Biel has said that typical Saturday afternoon for her son involves a trip to the park, a nap, and maybe even a playdate with a friend. But that’s about it. He doesn’t get to go to extravagant events or dress to the nines for a photoshoot. He’s a kid and is treated like one. This is how they try to raise a well-rounded, down-t0-earth child.
7. NEEDING HELP TO FIND THE BEST SLEEP TECHNIQUES
Getting a little one to sleep, and keeping them there, is a problem that many parents have to endure every hour of every day. Jessica Biel and Justin Timberlake are no different, believe it or not. They had many issues trying to get their son to go to sleep when they needed him too and making sure that he slept through the night so that they themselves could get some shut eye. This is why they turned to a nanny and a book called The Happiest Baby on the Block by pediatrician Dr. Harvey Karp. In the book, Biel learned techniques such as the Five S’s that help babies fall asleep; this includes shushing, swaddling, and swinging.
6. WILL ONLY INSPIRE EXERCISE BY LEADING FIRST
It’s pretty obvious that both Jessica Biel and her husband, Justin Timberlake, are very fit individuals. But this is something that they want for their son for both health and confidence reasons. But they know that they can’t get their son to stay active if they merely get him to do it and they sit at home. This is one of the reasons that the two of them are as in shape as they are, they want to inspire their son to do the same. And these two parents know what all parents should, leading by example is always more effective than looking like a hypocrite. They also take the time to incorporate some of their exercises into adventures with their son, further connecting them.
5. SORRY, BUT TV IS KEPT REALLY BORING
Some celebrity parents use a very specific tactic that other parents use, but one that only they can take full advantage of. For many reasons, some parents limit the time their child spends watching television, or they just remove TVs from the house entirely. This makes sure that they focus on other things and not become reliant on it in any way. This tactic is used by Timberlake and Biel but it has an added bonus, their son won’t get to see the full lives of his parents. After all, he may begin to get the wrong interpretation of them if he only sees them as legends of the film and music industries. But, the couple doesn’t fully take away the TV from Silas. They actually let him watch golf with his father. But that’s literally it.
4. CELEBRATE QUIRKS AND ODDITIES AT ALL COSTS
Many parents want to sculpt their child into the vision that they always had for them. But this is neither fair or all that healthy. Justin Timberlake and Jessica Biel are the opposite. They celebrate their child’s oddities and peculiarities. This allows him to build a strong foundation of confidence that he will need to get through his life as things become more challenging with age. Additionally, oddities breed creativity and outside-the-box thinking which is supremely important for a child’s well-being, social skills, and intellectual development. Besides, embracing these fun and whacky things is just downright fun and allows these three to have some pretty enjoyable adventures together.
3. GOTTA HAVE AN APPRECIATION FOR PASSION AND WORK
In an interview with Redbook magazine, Jessica Biel told her fans one of the other important tactics that she and her husband use to bringing up a well-rounded, passionate, and intelligent individual. It had to do with helping him backlogged that passion and work are important, especially when it’s separate from family life. This is because life is about more than one thing. She continued by saying, “It’s important for my son to see me as a human being very fulfilled by my work because it’s very much a part of me. I think that that’ll be very beneficial to [Silas] and his life when he’s older — that I didn’t just give my whole life to him. I maintained my own life as well, and that’s important.” She knows that personal fulfillment will always help fulfill the needs of those around that individual.
2. THE MARRIAGE IS KEPT ALIVE AFTER SO MANY YEARS
The foundation of parenting a healthy child always lies with their environment. And that usually means a partnership between their parents that is strong and consistent. Of course, the same principle can be applied to those raising a kid on their own. In fact, it does even more so since the individual has to be able to be strong and consistent within themselves. But in the case of Jessica Biel and Justin Timberlake, the pair has to make sure that they are strong together for their son. And this is precisely what they are. Most marriages in Hollywood don’t last. But this one has continued for a very long time despite issues. But this is because Silas’ parents truly love one another and are willing to actively work on one another to be there for their son and keep their family together and happy.
1. MUSIC AND ACTING ARE IMPORTANT, BUT FAMILY IS TOP PRIORITY
Jessica Biel and Justin Timberlake are two individuals who knew they wanted to be in the arts since they were very young. Timberlake, for instance, was in the Mickey Mouse Club and always made sure he would become an accomplished musician. The fact that he got into serious acting, like his role The Social Network, was just a big plus. Similarly, Biel had a huge connection with acting. Both found who they were through these endeavors and their success has set them, and their son, up for life. But they both have made it clear that their son, as well as the family as a whole, is by far the most important. Therefore, they use this as a strategy when dealing with day-to-day problems. They simply remind themselves where their priorities lie and try and stay true to that.