'There's No Right Or Wrong Way': Joe Swash Is Trying To Figure Out Parenting Just Like You

Joe Swash and Stacey Solomon attend the 2025 BAFTA Television Awards.Joe Swash is a busy man.When he’s not letting cameras into his home to film reality show Stacey & Joe (recently renewed for a second series), he’s filming cooking videos and juggling childcare alongside his wife, TV star and NTA-winner Stacey Solomon.The pair have six children, as well as two dogs and four ducks, so it’s fair to say there’s a lot going on at their home, Pickle Cottage, in Essex. Joe, a former Eastenders star turned I’m A Celeb and Dancing On Ice winner, sat down with HuffPost UK to talk all things parenting – and with the children back for the final school term before the summer holidays, the family are now looking ahead to the six-week break and how they’ll be juggling childcare. “We work really hard throughout the year and then the summer holidays are really important for me, Stace and the kids,” said Joe. This year they’re planning to go away for two or three weeks to “Turkey or somewhere like that” so they can have a “solid chunk of time together”.The couple share three children together: Belle, who is two; Rose, three; and Rex, five. Stacey also has two children from previous relationships: Leighton, 12, and Zachary, 17, while Joe has a 17-year-old son, Harry, from a past relationship.“It’s important for us to spend quality time together,” said the TV personality.When they’re not travelling, they’re spending time at home and getting the kids out in the garden as much as possible. “We’ve got lots of animals so there are chickens to look after, ducks to look after, the dogs to look after. We’re always out and about,” he said. “Stacey’s got this amazing veg patch that, constantly, one of the kids is out helping to water.”Joe added that when he and Stacey are out doing jobs, the children “love helping”. But that’s not to say it’s all work and no play. He’s a big believer in having fun and making mischief as a parent. “Me and Stacey, as parents, we’re constantly trying to teach our kids things and push them in the right direction,” he said. But he caveated that it’s also “really good to let your hair down sometimes – have a wrestle, get the Jammie Dodgers out [the actor is currently working with the biscuit brand and Nerf], let them play with the water outside.”As any parent can attest, kids love water – and Joe and Stacey’s brood are no exception. There’s a common bit of parenting advice about “putting them in water or taking them outside” to keep kids happy – and the actor jokes whether they’re having Super Soaker battles or setting the hosepipe on each other, “there’s always some sort of tap running in our house in the summer”. “The grass looks amazing, though,” he quipped.Stacey and Joe vs ScreensObviously, British weather can be glorious – but it can also be downright miserable (and it always seems to be the case when the kids are off school). So, how does the TV personality feel about screens, particularly offering his children phones, to keep them entertained? The topic has been a hot one of late, especially since the success of Netflix’s Adolescence and the growing Smartphone Free Childhood movement – and Joe admitted it’s something he and Stacey struggle with.“So primarily, we don’t let any of our kids have a phone until they go to secondary school because they don’t need to have that technology until then,” he explained.“Our battle at the minute is, the older ones have got the phones because they’re teenagers, and then the younger ones want to play with the phones – especially Rex.”The couple have found a compromise, so they call the phone “a privilege”. If Rex behaves at school all week and does his chores at home, he can have an hour on the phone at the weekend playing games. “But even that, me and Stacey begrudgingly let him have that,” he noted.“It’s difficult, it’s a constant battle ... And even then, when he’s playing the games, we’re constantly watching what he’s doing, what games he’s playing. It’s something that concerns us, you know?”The actor gave an example of a school he heard about where all the parents agreed that none of the kids in class were going to have a phone, so no one felt left out. “They put a blanket ban on it ... I thought that was quite a good idea,” he said. “The only way you are going to do it [keep them off phones] is to divide and conquer,” he continued.“As parents, if you work together, there are ways to make it easier – but sometimes, when you’re trying to teach your kids one thing and they go round to someone’s house and then that kid’s on the phone or on the computer the whole time, it sort of breaks down what you’re doing.“I feel like sometimes, as parents, the more we work together, the safer kids are.”The couple also have rules around phone use at home – for instance, the internet goes off at 10pm, so “the kids don’t have access to internet late into the night”.“The older ones, they’re 17 and 13, so a lot of their communication with their friends is through their phones and stuff. They’ve got their privacy, but again, we’re always vigilant, we’re always listening to conversations and making sure everything’s OK. But I think when they get into their teenage years, it’s quite important for them to have access to a phone.”While a lot has been said about the negative effects of phone use over the years, one recent study of 11-13 year olds found kids with smartphones reported better mental health than those without – including higher self-esteem and being less likely to feel depressed. They were also more likely to spend time with friends in person. I feel like sometimes, as parents, the more we work together, the safer kids are. The actor added: “It’s finding that balance, isn’t it? And you know what, there’s no right or wrong way of doing it either. I think sometimes parents feel quite judged by their decisions and I think: different horses for different courses.“There’s no real right or wrong way to be a parent. We’re all muddling through it, we’re all making mistakes. But ultimately if you love your kids and you’ve got their best interests at heart, that’s all you can do.”While he’s clearly a hands-on parent, there are moments when he lets the kids figure things out for themselves, too – this includes finding solutions to their squabbles. “In our house, there are disagreements with the kids all the time,” he admitted. “I’Il always just say to the kids: ‘Look, I’m not a referee’ ... and I let them deal with the little issues themselves.“Once there’s tears and crying and shouting, that’s when I step in and find out what’s going on. But usually I let them deal with it themselves.”Do they manage to sort it out then? “Yeah, sometimes they do. Sometimes they don’t,” he continued. “I like them to try to resolve the issues among themselves. If it’s nothing big, like it’s a sharing issue or someone’s got something someone else wants, they can work it out themselves.”As our chat comes to a close, there’s just enough time to discuss those two or three hours between the kids leaving school or childcare, and bedtime, when all hell tends to break loose in households up and down the UK. It’s nice to know that even the rich and famous aren’t immune to the chaos of the 3-6pm rush. On the days when Stacey is working and he’s picking the kids up from school, Joe will rustle up a big dinner – like jacket potatoes or spaghetti bolognese – and then it’s a matter of keeping the little ones awake until bedtime.“When we pick them up from school at 3.30pm, especially the younger ones, they’re usually ready for a little nap. So if you can just keep them awake from about 3.30pm until about 5.30pm, get their dinner in them, and then once they’re really dipping I’ll chuck them in the bath and that gives you another 45 minutes,” he said.“The longer you keep them awake, the better. So hopefully, usually, by about 7pm, they’re having their last little fill and they’re ready to go.”Bedtime – and exactly how long it takes – can “vary”, he added. “Sometimes you can have a good day and the kids go straight down and some days you’ll have one that will fight you and wake up the rest of them.”He quipped: “That’s why I do like the winter, because you can convince the kids that it’s a lot later than it is because of the [darker] nights. Trying to get the kids [to sleep] when the sun’s still up is a nightmare.” And once everyone is bed, what then? “It’s just getting a bit of time to yourself, maybe watch something with Stacey on telly,” he said. “We’ve been watching that Mobland at the minute which is quite good.”But as anyone run ragged by kids will know, it’s a challenge keeping those eyelids open past 8pm.“We’re both pretty knackered by the end of the day. Stacey’s quite an early bird – she’ll go to bed about 9.30pm, so then I’ll have an hour to myself and then I’ll usually hit the hay as well,” he said.“It’s a busy house. It starts at like 5am, so everyone needs their sleep.”Joe Swash has teamed up with beloved British biscuit Jammie Dodgers to unleash the ultimate summer mischief-maker – a limited-edition Super Soaker crafted in collaboration with Nerf. Designed to inspire families to head outside and soak up the sun, you can enter to win here.Related...Meghan Markle Shuts Down 'Fake Bump' Rumours With Throwback Video Of Her Dancing In LabourNo, Parents Aren't Clocking Off At 3pm – Saying They Are Is Deeply Unhelpful’Pay Granny To Nanny’ And 3 Lessons I Learned from Singaporean Parents

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