Fergie Gives Parenting Advice

Are you listening? The most important aspect of parenting is listening, says Sarah Ferguson.

“Nobody listens anymore,” Sarah tells OK! at the La Vita Dolce event benefiting her foundation. “What I do with my girls is I go in, shut the door, turn the telephone off, turn the TV off and say, ‘Let’s talk.’ "

The Duchess of York believes that’s the best way to guide her daughters, Beatrice, 19, and Eugenie, 17, away from the temptations of fame and Hollywood. But that doesn’t mean the girls are always up for chitchat.

“They go ‘nah, nah, nah,’ ” she continues. “Then I say, ‘I’m listening, you talk.’ It’s about listening.”

What have also stopped her daughters from going down a self-destructive path are the values Fergie and her ex-husband, Prince Andrew, have instilled in them. “My girls have been brought up with really strong boundaries from me,” she tells OK!. “I believe very strongly in manners, kindness and in really just listening.”

And they listen in return. Beatrice and Eugenie have followed in their 48-year-old mother’s philanthropic footsteps.

“They are donating me to the world’s children now,” she says. “‘Go on, mom, off you go.’ I really like that.”