“This has been such a hard year for moms,” Garner, 48, told Entertainment Tonight on Monday, March 1. “We have had to say ‘No, no, no.’ We’ve had to watch our kids be home, miss out on things.”

The Alias alum pointed out that “it is one thing to miss out on something as an adult,” but seeing her kids lose out on activities they had planned or watching them be “isolated and on Zoom” all the time is “hard.”

That is why Garner, who stars in the upcoming film Yes Day, is so excited about the premise of her new film.

“This is a breath of fresh air,” she said of her movie, which is about parents being tired of telling their kids “No,” and instead letting them make the rules for 24 hours. “This is a wish-fulfillment day of yes, and it is just so fun to watch moms watch the movie.”

When it comes to her own children, daughters Violet, 15, and Seraphina, 12, and son Samuel, 9, whom she shares with ex-husband Ben Affleck, Garner joked that she isn’t the coolest person in the house amid quarantine.

“It is not a positive to be me,” she said. “Someone who people would think, ‘Oh, how cool to have that person as a mom.’ No.”

The 13 Going on 30 actress explained that overall, her dynamic at home is good.

“But my teenager and my adolescent are both lovely,” she said. “So, I have to say, I have it pretty easy as far as that goes.”

Garner, who plays Allison Torres in the upcoming film, revealed that she turned to her own experience with her eldest child for the relationship between her character and her teenager.

“I definitely know that the pain of growing up, the pain of separating from the mom when you are so, so close,” she told the outlet. “The first draft of the script really had a lot of friction and the teenager was really snarky and they did not seem to like each other. I said, ‘That is not what it is. The point is it’s that painful without any of that. It is heartbreaking anyway just letting your kid grow up.'”

The Peppermint actress previously opened up about her family’s quarantine activities, revealing she watched The Office from start to finish with her little ones.

“My kids and I have spent months piled on the couch working our way through ‘How to Behave as Grownups’ 🙅🏻‍♀️, aka #TheOffice,” she captioned an Instagram video in August 2020 showing herself crying in slow-motion. “Apparently we are sensitive people — the finale hit us pretty hard. When I realized I’d accidentally shot my farewell testimonial in slo-mo I realized: your Monday might need this, too. 🙈👵🏼😬♥️♥️♥️.”

Yes Dear premieres on Netflix on Friday, March 12.

This story originally appeared on: US Magazine - Author:Johnni Macke