Hilary Swank says having twins later in life allowed her the opportunity to be more present and patient as a parent
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The actress shares that her career focus left little room for starting a family in her 20s or 30s, noting she would have been a "much different parent" in her earlier years
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The Away actress tells PEOPLE she feels doing important work on herself set the stage for her to be the best parent to her twins Aya and Ohm
Hilary Swankdoesn't have a single regret about welcoming her twins later in life.
While chatting with PEOPLE about herlobbying efforts for the California Bill AB 1901, which calls for more transparency in diaper ingredients, theMillion Dollar Babyactress, 51, shares that she enjoyed Mother's Day surrounded by her family, noting she's in a "really blessed position" to be able to spend time with her kids exactly how she wants to. Swank, who welcomed hertwins Aya and Ohmin April 2023, adds that it "just worked out" having her kids later in life because she can "be so present" with them.
"It just worked out that I had babies this much later in life," she says. "It wasn't that I didn't want them earlier. There were a lot of things that kept that from happening, and so I can really take time to be with them."
She adds, "I feel like I get a lot of Mother's Days other than actual Mother's Day because of being able to be so present with them."
Reflecting on her decision to have her children later in life, the actress shares that she was much more career-driven in her earlier years, saying it didn't leave much room to tend to other things in life. She adds that her acting career was "such a baby of mine" that ultimately she gave all of herself to developing her craft.
"I knew I wanted kids someday, but I wasn't planning what that would look like," she tells PEOPLE. "I know it's so different for everyone, but for me, if I had had a kid in my 20s or my 30s, I think I'd be a much different parent than I am now."
"I feel like I have that more kind of ability to really give them my attention in a way that I wouldn't have as much at that point because it would've been pulled between the two in a very distinct way," continues Swank, who shares her twins with husbandPhilip Schneider. "In my career being so established, I have the ability to kind of step in and step out when I choose, and that is just such a blessing."
Swank says she "couldn't have planned it" to work out the way it did, but she's grateful for the space she's in. TheAwaystar explains that as an older mom, she has "much more patience and bandwidth" to raise her kids, adding other reasons why having kids later in life made her the best parent she could be for her twins.
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"I've done a lot of work on myself," she adds. "One of the things that I feel is important about being your best parenting self is having done that work, so you break any cycles that you don't want to impart on your children, and I've done a lot of that work over time, so I didn't have to do a lot of catch up with that."
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The loving mom, who keeps her babies out of the public eye, admits that she still has work to do within herself. However, Swank emphasizes that she's more equipped to handle whatever comes her way.
"I still do my work. Don't get me wrong," she says. "I'm certainly not a perfect human being. But, I have the tools in which to deal with those things at hand rather than having to go search for them while I'm in the middle of it."
Swank tells PEOPLE she is consistently learning how to "be in the moment" from her children, noting it's not an easy task.
"One of the things that I've always tried and aimed for as a goal is to be in the moment, and it's much harder than one would think," she says. "My kids have really taught me [that]."
"First of all, there's no one more in the moment than them, right?" she adds. "They're just that perfect reminder of that, and that I don't want to lose sight of that."
Read the original article onPeople
