I met Sharon Bush seven years ago at The Light House International Gala. She had just moved to New York and we spoke at length about our lives, traveling and our children. I had just given birth to my first child and was eager as a new Mother to hear all that she had to say on Motherhood. She was open, honest and pure of heart with everything she spoke of.

We here at Old Fashioned Mom are proud to introduce Sharon Bush as our first Celebrity Mother!

____________________

1. How would you describe yourself?

How would I describe myself – that is hard to do.

I love people and have a great eclectic group of friends from all walks of life. I love to learn new things. I love and participate in many different sports. On the work front – At the moment Lauren and I are working on children’s storybooks and trying to transpose them into a children’s tv series. I am also part of an exciting patent pending scientific group. We are using a plant based protein that we will be used to clean up the Everglades – and many other places around the world. I believe in leaving the world better than we found it.

I also believe in one true God.

I am blessed to have a deep, long friendship with pastor Joel Osteen and his amazing, and caring family.

Motherhood, of course, is my greatest and most important legacy.

2. Please tell us about your children?

I have 3 very precious, compassionate and brilliant children. And one very special and gifted son-in- law David. ( of course I am very prejudiced on all of them ) Lauren Bush Lauren, my oldest, (30) started her Feed bag project while she was a student at Princeton. To date – she has given over 85 million meals through the sale of her reusable feed, grocery bags

My son Pierce (28) lives in Houston. Pierce is Vice President of the Big Brothers Assoc in Houston tx. He is also in charge of their capital campaign. Pierce has also been a Big Brother to Jaylyn for the last 6 years.

My Ashley (25) graduated from Barnard 4 years ago. Since then – she has started her own film company called Walker Street Productions and she is in the process of filming a documentary. She is also currently in film grad school at USC. In her spare time Ashley was tutoring abused women in safe houses so they could take their GED ‘s.

3. How has Motherhood changed you as a person?

Motherhood changed me 30 years ago when Lauren was born. Looking at her sweet newborn face I knew that my children would always be my first and most important concern and priority. I also knew that I always wanted to be a part of their life – from the minute they were born. I brought my children with me on most trips . I did not give birth to my children to let others influence and raise them. I believe that children should be seen AND heard.

4. What was most important to you when raising your children?

Raising children is the most important job in the world. Giving them the consistent right guidelines, moral values, love, caring and compassion from the time they are born is critical. If babies grow up knowing they are cared for and loved then they will grow up to be confident and caring adults. It is also important to instill confidence in children at a young age.. Let them know that you believe in them, that you are there to help them and that they can accomplish their dreams, even at a young age they need to believe in themselves- and they need to believe that you are their biggest cheerleader.

I treasure the book The Alchemist that Lauren gave me when she was 18. In it she inscribed “thank you for believing in me, even when I didn’t believe in myself. And for believing bigger things for me than I could even imagine. ” That inscription proved to me that I had given her “Love and Wings” something that I have aspired to give all of my 3 children.

5. What advice would you give today’s generation of young Mothers?

The advice that I would give today’s young generation of mothers is to love their children unconditionally. Always listen to their feelings and opinions. Children are born with their own personalities and blue print. Listen to them and guide them. Look for their gifts and honor those gifts. Everyone has these. Do not focus on their weaknesses- everyone has these also.
Do not be a “helicopter” parent . That will cripple their self confidence. Children need time to daydream and play.

Also – always know your care giver and their background. When Lauren was a baby and I left her with a sitter – I would hide a tape recorder and push play when I left the house. I wanted to hear how the sitter was treating her when I was not there. We had secret service outside of our home but I needed to know what was going on inside. (this, of course, was before the day of the hidden video cameras)

I would also stress to parents that you need to teach your children compassion at a young age. I brought all of my children to soup kitchens and homeless shelters at a young age. We played games with the children there. I wanted my children to understand humanity and caring and that they could be helpful to others. I think this also teaches children to be less self centered and to grow up wanting to be helpful citizens of the world.

*Sharon Bush is the Founder and CEO of Teddy Share Bears, Founding Board Member for The UN Women for Peace and Committee Member for Princes Yasmin Aga Khan’s Alzheimer’s Research Benefit.

* click to view images at full size