Bravo Insider Exclusive!

Create a free profile to get unlimited access to exclusive videos, sweepstakes, and more!

Sign Up for Free to View

The Talk

Kathy shares her secret to communicating with her kids.

By Kathy Wakile

Hello, everyone! I hope you all have been enjoying your summer. It’s been a really great one here in New Jersey. We only have a few short weeks left to go. The kids will be back to school in no time. Forgive me for getting this blog out late. I’ve been very busy working on my summer desserts. You guessed it, ice cream.

How to Watch

Watch The Real Housewives of New Jersey Season 14 premiere May 5th at 8/9c on Bravo and stream next day on Peacock.

Time has a way of flying by. It certainly doesn’t stand still for anyone. If only we could slow things down a bit.

As I start to watch this episode I can’t help remembering when my kids were small and how difficult it was to get a family photo. It seemed the more I tried to get a perfect shot, the more they didn’t cooperate. I remember getting the family all dressed and camera ready, only to get frustrated and cancel the whole shoot, because the kids just were not having it. So as a result I have some great photos of my kids that I took myself, most of them when they were clowning around. Teresa stuck it out and got beautiful shots for her new cookbook. 

Victoria will always be daddy’s little girl. I guess that’s why even the mere suggestion of having “the talk” with her got him crazy. Of course Rich realizes that she’s growing up, there’s no denying that. Maybe I should have not even mentioned it to Rich, he got so worked up over nothing. It’s not like we haven’t had a talk with Victoria about the birds and the bees before. We would be very irresponsible if we waited till she was sixteen, don’t you think?

It’s pretty obvious to everyone that we talk to our kids about growing up and the world we live in. Our approach as parents is to talk to them as much as possible. Often times we put a different spin on the subject we are addressing. You never know what they will relate to best. So we change it up and try to add some humor as well. 

I always try to find a creative way to get the message through loud and clear. My talk with Victoria was more about her responsibility to herself. How making the right choices has an impact on perception, sending the right message and knowing how to handle the reactions you receive. That’s why I thought dress shopping was a creative way to start the conversation. The choices that we make as we grow up always have an impact on our future. 

It’s so hard to find the right words when we talk to our kids. I think that’s especially true for mothers and daughters. No matter how hard we try, sometimes one word or the tone in our voices can turn a pleasant conversation into a shouting match. All we ever want to do is protect them. However that doesn’t always happen. Sometimes we just lose it.

It was great to see Caroline and Lauren having a heart to heart. Lauren is a beautiful young woman, but unfortunately like so many girls her age she can’t see it. Lauren is so lucky to have fantastic role models like Caroline and Jacqueline. It was great to see the whole family working out together. Working out isn’t one of my favorite things to do either, but they made look like so much fun. I had to rewind that scene over and over; they crack me up. Greg’s shorts certainly do have a mind of their own! 

So we finally meet Ashlee’s dad. I have to admit, he’s not at all what I expected. I guess since he lives out of state I didn’t expect him to be so involved in Ashlee’s upbringing. He and his wife are kind, loving, and supportive. How lucky Ashlee is to have two sets of parents who love her and want to help her find her direction in life. Chris definitely wins the best stepfather award, hands down.

Watching Jacqueline cry like that broke my heart. Her years of frustration and hurt just came flowing out. It’s so obvious that Jacqueline has been trying to do everything right for Ashlee for all these years. I can’t understand why Ashlee can’t see it. One day Ashlee you’re going to be a mother, and I can assure you, you're going to feel so bad for not responding to your mom’s guidance. I hope that by watching this you will be feeling what everyone else is feeling. You’re a great girl, with such a bright future ahead of you. Maybe you’re right, you just need sometime away to sort things out. I’m praying for you. 

Having a solid foundation in life is one of the most important things we can have as we are growing up. I was fortunate enough to have both of mine. I can’t tell you how much I appreciate my hard-working, loving, and supportive parents. That’s not always the case for everyone. It was so emotional for me to watch Melissa and her sisters talk about the medium and her message from Melissa’s departed father. Not saying that I believe in all that stuff, but there’s no denying that our loved ones that have passed still have an impact on our lives. Melissa’s father was one of her biggest fans as we’ve seen in some of her old home movies. Yes, Melissa, he had to be smiling from ear to ear this week as you released your first single, On Display. It was a great success, and we are all so proud of you. Dreams can come true. 

Special thank you to Lynn at www.thefigleafboutique.com. Keep watching to see which dress Victoria chose to wear for the junior formal.

See you all next week!

Lots of Love,

xoxo Kathy 

 

Want the latest Bravo updates? Text us for breaking news and more!