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Angelina Jolie on How Being a Mom Changes With Teenagers

Angelina Jolie Is "Rediscovering" Herself as a Mom to 6 Teenagers, and It's So Sweet

NEW YORK, NEW YORK - FEBRUARY 25: Angelina Jolie with children Knox Leon Jolie-Pitt, Vivienne Marcheline Jolie-Pitt, Pax Thien Jolie-Pitt, Shiloh Nouvel Jolie-Pitt, Zahara Marley Jolie-Pitt and Maddox Chivan Jolie-Pitt attend

Like most moms, Angelina Jolie is slowly coming to terms with the fact that her kids are growing up, but even with her oldest son Maddox, 18, away at college, there's still plenty of love to go around.

In an interview with Hello! magazine, Angelina opened up about what it's like to be a mother now that all of her kids are teenagers or preteens, and it's making her relive her own teenage years in a way. "When your children are little you feel more 'mommy,'" she said. "When they are teenagers you start to remember yourself as a teenager. You see them going to punk clubs and you wonder why you can't go. I'm in this fun moment where I'm rediscovering myself."

"As they grow up, I find my children are strong individuals but still open-minded."

Angelina's kids include Maddox, 18, Pax, 15, Zahara, 14, Shiloh, 13, Vivienne, 11, and Knox, 11. Even though watching her children grow up makes Angelina want to relive her past, she's also thinking about the future and doing her best to instill important values in all of her kids, including spreading kindness to others and to themselves. "It's important to be humble — know the freedoms you have and what you've been blessed with and make sure you help others; and always remember your place — we're all human and very flawed," the actress said. "We're tiny pieces in a much bigger world."

It sounds like those values of kindness and graciousness are definitely sticking given the sweet treatment Angelina gets from her kids on Mother's Day. "On Mother's Day my children make me breakfast and pick me flowers — they treat me like a lady," the mother of six said.

Above all, Angelina believes it's important to prepare her kids to face the world and take on any obstacles that may come their way. "As they grow up, I find my children are strong individuals but still open-minded," Angelina said. "I try to lead by example and be kind and gracious, as my mother was — and loving and tolerant. But when there's a fight that needs to be had, get in there. We need to prepare the next generation because there's so much happening in the world — they're up against it. I'm working on a program for children with the BBC. We're counting on our children so we must give them the right knowledge and support."

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