10+ Unusual Rules Kelly Ripa Makes Her Children Follow

Kelly Ripa has some interesting rules that she makes her kids follow.

Hey, everyone runs their households a little bit differently, so we are not ones to judge.

But hey, for the sake of having a little fun, why don't we take a look at some of these unusual rules.

1. She reads their social media

There's nothing worse than being a teen and having your parents read your social media. But Kelly Ripa does it:

"We will give you certain freedoms, but when you want privacy in a not private world... like, you can't have privacy and be on Instagram."

2. The kids hand in the phones at bedtime

For good reason:

"The kids know, at bedtime, they are to hand me their devices because there have been studies that it keeps kids awake even when they're not on. It keeps them up -- Just the anxiety".

3. They can negotiate

It may be a tight ship, but that doesn't mean she's a dictator. Her kids can try to negotiate terms. This one was about her daughter Lola's after-prom curfew:

"It was an intense negotiation. Basically, at a certain point, my husband wound up negotiating against himself. She wore him down to the point where he got so weak he started counter offering against himself and she swooped him and made the deal. Deal!"

4. She is very strict about Spanish class

She says it's the only class they're not allowed to fail, and she kind of has a point:

"You're half Mexican. Your grandmother is a Spanish teacher. You're not allowed to fail Spanish. It's the one thing you're not allowed to fail".

5. Everyone follows the calendar

The people in the Ripa household always know what's up:

"It's so old-fashioned and people think I'm kidding. We hang a paper calendar in the house and it has everybody's activities."

6. She's a snoop

Kids hate it when their parents snoop in their rooms.

But, Kelly Ripa doesn't mind if her kids don't like it, she is still going to snoop around whether they like it or not.

"I walked into her room and she wasn't there. But there was her phone, which isn't supposed to be in her room during study hours."

"So I was like 'let me just accidentally dial in her code' [...] I saw a lot of things like "so-and-so responded to your Instagram' or 'so-and-so liked your photo.' She was in the bathroom showering."

7. What her daughter wears is under Kelly's control

She said to WebMD:

"First thing in the morning, it's a major discussion about what she's going to wear. I've learned to give her limited options: ‘You can wear this or this.' That's what works best".

8. "I'm not your friend, I'm your mom"

Kelly Ripa is a mom first. She said in an interview,

“I just feel an obligation as her mom to keep her living in the real world. I don’t care who you are or what you do, if you’re a mom, you’re a mom.”

She also says about boundaries:

"If you don't set limits and boundaries for your kids early on, and that means not giving into every temper tantrum, then later on, once they're teens it's too late."

9. She has different rules for her daughter

Mostly, because she's kind of a pain:

"Lola challenges me. My sons are forever happy to see me and they're snuggly and cuddly. With Lola, everything is up for debate. Everything is a conversation."

10. Their phones are privileges

And she can take them away whenever she pleases.

There are no phones allowed at dinner, and if they act up the phones are taken away. Bad grades, not listening, and more are all reasons to lose a phone in the Ripa house.

11. She even knows about the secret devices

You know, the ones you hide from your mom when you don't want her to take it?

Yeah, she knows all about that one, and has a method of finding it.

"It starts with me tossing the room like a prison warden because I know there's a hidden device that I haven't found yet."

"I know, because I just know. So I find the hidden cell phone that is buried underneath a pillow, deep within the bed, below the thing, underneath the thing, plugged a thing and I go 'an iPhone 2?!' And I confiscate it."

Well done, Kelly.

12. She controls TV time

Unsplash | Dario

It's usually no surprise when parents want their kids not to watch TV all the time, but it's always a little bit weird when people who make their money off TV limit their kids' TV time.

But Ripa takes it to a whole new extreme.

She only lets her kids watch one hour of TV per weekend.

13. She runs a clean house

Yes, all moms like to keep things clean.

But Kelly takes it to a whole new level. She even makes sure that her children do some of the cleaning.

“My house is like the CDC. I’m all about containment."

"We keep things really clean, really neat. The rooms are hydrated with humidifiers. When Michael was first in school, I had pinkeye six times that year. Now, it’s prevention, prevention, prevention. We do supplements, probiotics, you name it.”

14. There are no arguments during emergencies

This one kind of seems like a no-brainer; the kids should listen to the leader of the household when there is an emergency.

And yet, when Ripa says it, it seems a little weird.

“This is New York. There could be [an] attack."

"And I can just see me having to debate with Lola about why we have to leave right this minute. I’ve literally had to say to her: ‘Honey, if there’s an emergency, you don’t have the liberty to argue with mommy, okay?’”

15. The "Thank You" notes

Unsplash | Courtney Hedger

It's really a good thing to teach your kids manners. It's a really great thing, especially, to teach them to say "please" and "thank you".

But Kelly may take it pretty far.

She makes her kids write scores of "thank you" notes.

It actually got to the point where her son didn't want to receive any more gifts for his birthday just so he didn't have to go through the process of writing a million thank you notes.

This is her confirming that fact:

"I am very serious about sending thank you notes – to the point where my oldest son, Michael, has asked to not have birthday presents anymore because he doesn’t want the burden of thank you letters."

16. She's all about consistency

There are a lot of important things to remember when you're raising a child, but one of the most important things is to always be consistent.

Kelly Ripa takes that to heart.

"I'm big on letting my kids know exactly what to expect."

"I think children are consistency junkies; they need schedules and parameters, and it's up to us to provide them. My kids understand that we love them no matter what -- and they also know that 'no' means no."

17. Her kids won't be spoiled

She doesn't care what Billy down the street has.

She doesn't want her children to have too much stuff, despite the fact that she can give them whatever they want.

"I grew up in the suburbs. ... There was so much less stimulation then, more freedom"

"And we were content with less. Kids today are so much savvier. ... I remember getting one of those huge boom boxes at 16 and thinking I was cool. Even Lola wants a cell phone and an iPod; all the kids do. It's much tougher on parents now."

18. No Junk Food

One of the best things you can do for your children is make sure that they eat healthy, and that's exactly what Kelly Ripa does for her kids.

No junk food in the Ripa house.

She says about it:

"We've always fed our kids that way. They don’t have a choice. We don’t keep a lot of junk in the house so they eat what's there, which is a big bowl of fresh fruit".

19. Family dinners

One of the most important things that a family can do is eat together. Whether you're famous or not.

And guess what? The Ripa family also places high importance on family dinners.

“It means so much to the kids"

"It means so much to me. Does it always go as planned? Of course not. But guess what? We are together, we have these meaningful conversations, we talk about the days of our children. That’s what’s interesting to us.”

20. No cutting each other off

The Ripa family makes sure everyone has a turn to speak

“Lola and Joaquin actually like to cut each other off, so we work on letting everyone finish their thoughts respectfully.”