Teyana Taylor’s Hannah Montana Parenting Hack Is So Smart

If you’ve ever fired off a work email while simultaneously pouring a bowl of Cheerios, you know the parenting juggle is relentless. But 35-year-old actress and singer Teyana Taylor has found a nostalgic, Disney-inspired way to keep her career from bleeding into her family time.

At the TIME Women of the Year Gala on March 10, Taylor explained that she actively treats her life like Hannah Montana. By explicitly distinguishing between "carpet mommy" (the glamorous, hard-working movie star) and "home mommy" (the one who cooks and draws), she ensures her daughters, Junie (10) and Rue Rose (5), understand boundaries. For any working parent struggling to switch off their "professional brain" at 5:00 p.m., Taylor’s approach is a highly relatable masterclass in mental compartmentalization.

Why the double life method actually works

Beyond the red-carpet glamour, the real genius of Taylor's approach is how this strict boundary keeps her children grounded. Here is how she makes it happen:

• The clear divide: Taylor makes a physical and mental shift the second she's off the clock. “I live two different lives where it's like, 'Okay, here's carpet mommy. But then here is mommy, when she's home, we're going to the trampoline park,' , we're cooking, we're playing, we're drawing,” she told PEOPLE.
• The anti-entitlement check: Because she leaves the VIP persona at the door, her kids don't expect special treatment. Taylor proudly noted that her oldest, Junie, is a leader who doesn't flex her mom's status, saying, "She don't walk in saying, 'My mom needs this,' or 'I'm this.'"
• The real-life application: You don't need a paparazzi following to use this trick. Simply changing out of your work clothes when you get home, or physically shutting your laptop in a desk drawer, signals to your kids—and your own brain—that "Work You" has clocked out for the day.

Teyana Taylor is mom to Junie (10) and Rue Rose (5) with ex-husband Iman Shumpert.

This article was crafted with the assistance of an AI language model. The final content was reviewed and edited by a human and reflects the editorial judgment and expertise of  Today's Parent.