Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner are proud parents of 10-year-old Arabella, eight-year-old Joseph and five-year-old Theodore (also known as Theo). And while they may be part of one of the richest (and most controversial) family dynasties in the world, they have to abide by strict rules. From learning to sing in Mandarin to lunch dates at the office, the Trump children already have a busy schedule.
Here are five rules Javanka’s kids have to live by.
Meal choices are limited
The family is known for their strict diets – and both parents prefer very nutritious meals. They’ve also opened up about how important family meals are – including their Friday nights to honour their Jewish faith – and told Vogue that phones get shut off for 25 hours on the sabbath.
“From Friday to Saturday we don’t do anything but hang out with one another. We don’t make phone calls,” Trump told Vogue in 2015.
But when it comes to the first meal of the day, they are particularly restrictive with their children so that they don’t waste mental energy, aka “decision fatigue”.
“To avoid making a big decision out of breakfast, I always give the kids one of two choices: either Greek yogurt and berries or “fancy oatmeal”. If they choose oatmeal, I get out all sorts of toppings – chia seeds, berries, flaxseed, goji berries, cinnamon, walnuts and almonds – and the kids get to “decorate” their oatmeal,” Trump revealed in an interview with online magazine My Morning Routine.
Play date? Let me check my schedule
Trump, who had play dates with Michael Jackson when she was a kid, tries to have solo time with each child, but admits the other kids often interrupt her time with Theo.
“Right now, I play with cars with Joseph, on the floor, for twenty minutes each day,” Trump explained in her 2017 book Women Who Work: Rewriting the Rules for Success. She added that she tries to give Theo three of his bottles each day and to be there to rock him to sleep at night.
“Arabella loves books, so I make a note to read at least two per day to her and plan ‘dates’ to the library,” Trump continued.
She also told Harper’s Bazaar that the pair enjoy lunch “meetings” at Trump Grill once a week where Arabella loves eating salmon with vegetables. Trump admitted she brings building floor plans and lets her daughter colour those.
Ivanka’s never too busy to discipline
According to magazine Redbook, the former US first daughter explained that although it would be easier in the short term to let her kids have their way, she prefers to focus on what’s best for them in the long run. She confessed that if she has to come home and put someone on timeout instead of plying them with biscuits and plopping them in front of the TV, she will.
Extracurricular activities are a must
Trump regrets starting to learn piano as a child and quitting only a few years later. So she has pushed Arabella to learn the instrument, take ballet lessons and also learn Mandarin.
“I want her to learn and appreciate music,” she told Fit Pregnancy. Thankfully Arabella “adores” it.
Good manners go a long way
Trump has compared raising her children to managing employees in the workplace. “You can’t instruct your children to respect people and have good manners if you yourself don’t say ‘please’ and ‘thank you,’” she wrote in an Insider essay.
Note: This story was originally published on SCMP and has been republished on this website.
