Goldie Hawn thinks kids lack 'grit' from too much screen time, not enough real-world problem solving

Goldie Hawn can't help thinking about why kids today lack "grit" when she reflects on her own childhood.

During a recent appearance on "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" the 80-year-old actress spoke about the freedom she had in her childhood, noting "there were no tablets" and she and her friends were left to come up with different ways to have fun.

"We understood that we got in trouble. We had the kids together," she said. "We didn't have anybody looking at us, following us. We were alive and figuring out having the best day and I will never forget it. And kids aren't doing that today."

The actress shared that her new book, "The After-School Kindness Crew," which aims to teach children about mindfulness, kindness and joy, "shows how kids can be together, relating together, solving problems together," which she says "is how you create more grit and critical thinking in your prefrontal cortex."

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In the book, the characters can also be seen taking "brain breaks," which teaches young readers "how to calm themselves down" when dealing with anxious thoughts.

Hawn has always been passionate about promoting mental health awareness, having created the MindUp initiative through the Goldie Hawn Foundation in 2003. The MindUp curriculum supports students with their social and emotional development through neuroscience, mindful awareness, and positive psychology.

During a recent interview with People, the "Death Becomes Her" star reflected on what inspired her to create MindUp over 20 years ago, saying, "I really wanted children to feel joyful."

"I then looked into the state of mind of children then, and it was not good. Our kids were really in bad shape," she said. "It really freaked me out because we had our children who were committing suicide at 10 years old. Ten, [and] taking their lives. It was the third leading cause of death between 10 and 15 years old, and now it's actually worse. My point is, is that I had to do something."

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She later added she was shocked to learn how little the students knew about their own brains, noting that the program works with students from kindergarten to eighth grade to understand their brain and regulate their emotions.

Hawn previously shared her philosophy on raising kids during an appearance on the "Dan Buettner Podcast," in January, saying she doesn't agree with "the coddling of the American mind."

"They have to not get what they want. They have to struggle," she said. "I didn't like tensions with Katie. I didn't go out and buy her a bunch of clothes all the time because she was growing out of them, and I felt that it was crazy waste of money. And I'm telling you, she would make outfits like nobody's business."

Hawn got her big break as an actress on the sketch comedy show, "Rowan & Martin’s Laugh-In," which won her an Emmy Award. Her star power continued to rise when she won the Oscar for best supporting actress in 1970 for her role in "Cactus Flower."

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She later starred in a string of iconic films including "Private Benjamin," "Overboard," "Death Becomes Her" and "First Wives Club." However, Hawn hasn't starred in a movie for six years.

"It's about the content," she told People in a new interview. "It has to do with the content. Acting for acting's sake, taking things… I've read a lot of shows, a lot of scripts that I didn't like, or I didn't think I'd fit."

Her most recent appearance on-screen was as Mrs. Claus in "The Christmas Chronicles 2" in 2020 alongside her partner, Kurt Russell.

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"The one thing about acting is that I've done it, and I had a great career, and I honor that," the legendary actress said. "I would love to get a material that could actually be like, ‘Oh my God, I want this so bad. This is so funny. She's so crazy. She's so interesting.' But I haven't come across it."

"If somebody came up with a really cool, funny script… I think it would be great," she added.