Kelly Rutherford: My Kids Are So Different

Eugene Gologursky

Boys will be boys, and girls will be girls!

“My son is all into superheroes, and my daughter’s into ballet now,” Kelly Rutherford told PEOPLE of Hermés, 5, and Helena Grace, 2½, during L’Oréal’s Paris Legends Gala on Wednesday.

“My daughter is more into babies and dolls; She loves to bring them into the bed and put the covers over them. They’re so different, boys and girls!”

However, one thing the Gossip Girl star’s kids agree on are books.

“Oh my gosh, they’re into a lot of books,” Rutherford, 43, shares. “We’re reading Press Here [by Hervè Tullet], it’s all these dots that go all different directions on the page.”

Talking to reporters, Rutherford accidentally referred to her son as her brother, whom she says are a lot alike.

“I always call them each other’s names, because my younger brother was like a son to me, in a way,” Rutherford, the oldest of four siblings, explains. “You know when you have a little brother, you take care of him? My mother always used to say, ‘It’s like you became his mom.’ Like I took over.”

To maximize her time, Rutherford tries to make everything last a little longer, even clothes from her favorite kids’ shops, J. Crew’s Crewcuts and Baby CZ in New York.

“I buy them a size too big,” Rutherford reveals, “and then they wear them for two years. It’s great!”

The busy mother has one product that simplifies her life in unexpected ways: baby wipes.

“Yes, baby wipes make my life easier,” she laughs. “I use them everywhere now. I keep them on-set to keep stains out of my clothes.”

– Asher Fogle

Comments

megan on November 7th, 2011

She is a pretty woman, but the crossed straps pulling her cleavage are not very flattering.

Hea on November 7th, 2011

Kids are mostly what we turn them (influence) into, gender wise.

Delilah on November 7th, 2011

Agree Hea..Having four boys and a girl I can say boys can play with dolls just as easily as girls do and girls can prefer a truck over a doll. It just depends on the child and what you gear them towards

Ashlyn on November 7th, 2011

Of course some little girls like to play with trucks and some little boys like to play with dolls! =) But of course, there’s nothing wrong with little girls prefering dolls and little boys prefering superheroes either (a few parents I know force baby dolls on their boys even though the kids hate the things and like to rip the heads off!) I don’t think parents should gear them toward either…let them be little and play. They’ll work it out on their own. =]

Shannon on November 7th, 2011

She should never wear that dress again.

Pandabear on November 7th, 2011

It looks like I can see her nipples through the bizarre criss crosses of fabric. I agree, Kelley you are beautiful but do yourself a favor and never wear this dress again!

I had access to trucks, monsters, etc and my brother access to my girly toys as a child. I just gravitated to the girly girl things even though both were offered. Each kid will have their preferences and it’s all good.

Ali on November 8th, 2011

I don’t know if I agree with the comment by Hea about how we influence kids into liking what they like. I generally disagree with that. My girls were never influenced to play with dolls and my son was never aimed towards playing with trucks or sports. My middle child shunned all of her sister’s dolls and was always just a very PHYSICAL girl. A straight to the bone tom-boy. Very rough & tumble who preferred either reading books or running around. But, my oldest daughter was just always addicted to her dolls and tea set. My little boy (the youngest of my 3) told me at the age of three that he wanted to DANCE! Imagine my surprise! I never once told him or inspired him to dance but that is what he loves to do. Dance and soccer! Quite the combo. But, I just don’t think kids are TAUGHT to play with certain things. They like what they like. I think it’s more innate and in depth. I don’t think kids do things they don’t want to do regardless of whether a parent wants them to or not. My son would throw a fit anytime we tried to even suggest his possibly playing baseball OR if one of his older sister tried to get him to play dolls. It’s just in them. Whatever it is…it’s already there. That’s what I think at least.

River on November 8th, 2011

Its true that there is no such thing as gender, we created it, however it doesn’t seem like Kelly Rutherford is forcing her daughter to be girly and her son to be masculine in this situation, so I’m not sure why people are bringing up the gender conditioning issue. Some girls truly do love dolls and pink things, and some boys really do love sports and superheroes. I personally was a tomboy growing up (still am in some ways) and always preferred playing sports, being “adventurous”, and playing with “masculine” toys, but my sister was a typical girly girl, and not because she was forced to be.

Romy on November 8th, 2011

I actually love the dress. She could have put a little padding in it to shape the breast area.

Chris on November 11th, 2011

Oh brother…. There are *significant* differences between the genders that has nothing to do with nurture. Good grief, the hormones they produce are different, their bodies are different, and their brains are different. Scientists and people who market toys all know what the rest of us are all too politically correct to say out loud: more boys will buy trucks than girls will, and more girls will buy dolls than boys. They don’t have truck commercials with nothing but little girls, and they don’t have doll commercials with all boys. It doesn’t work. Thereare always exceptions to the rule, but not a significant amount, statistically speaking.

A Hinds on November 11th, 2011

Kelly’s dress is beautiful. I love it and wouldn’t change a thing about it. And, Kelly is 43 now, not 42. Her birthday was on November 6th. I agree with some of the other posters. Some children just gravitate towards certain likes and dislikes, regardless of gender.

Reese on November 11th, 2011

As other posters have said, it has to do more with a child’s personality than anything else. My eldest is about as stereotypical as a girl can get. My other daughter, however, refuses to were clothing from the girls’ department, is the only girl on her organized football and hockey teams, and would never think of touching a doll, Barbie, etc. They were raised in the exact same environments but one gravitates one way and the other, the complete opposite. They are who they are and I appreciate that they’re so different. Definitely makes things interesting around the house.