Jennifer Garner Opens Up About Parenting Pressures During New Carter's Partnership
Hollywood actress Jennifer Garner has candidly shared her experiences of motherhood while promoting an exciting new collaboration between her organic food brand Once Upon A Farm and the beloved children's clothing retailer Carter's. The 53-year-old mother of three revealed the profound pressures facing modern parents during an exclusive interview with PEOPLE magazine this week.
From Screen Star to Parenting Advocate
'I just have so much heart for young parents and how much you want to do everything right,' Garner explained with genuine empathy. 'I've been there. I know that pressure intimately.' The acclaimed actress, who shares three children with ex-husband Ben Affleck, has transformed her public persona from Hollywood star to dedicated parenting advocate through her work with Once Upon A Farm.
Garner's children - Violet, 20, Fin, 17, and Samuel, 13 - have been central to her journey into the children's nutrition space. She joined Once Upon A Farm as a co-founder back in 2017, describing the company's mission as 'trying to be an ally for moms' during a 2023 appearance on Good Morning America.
Nutrition Meets Fashion in Innovative Collection
The new Carter's collection represents a creative fusion of nutrition education and children's fashion, featuring vibrant prints of bananas, strawberries, and avocados designed to make healthy foods more familiar to young wearers. 'We always talked about the importance of playful, colorful designs over at Once Upon A Farm,' Garner revealed about the collaboration's origins.
She elaborated on the educational aspect of the clothing line: 'We want to fill little bellies and give them all the vitamins and nutrients they need, and one way to encourage that and get them used to all these foods on their palates is to have those reflected back on them visually.' The actress questioned conventional children's wear designs, asking: 'We're used to pajamas having different characters on them or stars or nighttime things. Why not have strawberries and avocados and bananas?'
Trusted Partnership with Charitable Commitment
Garner emphasized the natural synergy between the two brands, noting: 'And Carter's is such a trusted brand. I don't know any child that grows up without coming across Carter's and wearing it. So it's the perfect collaboration for us.' The partnership extends beyond commercial interests, with both companies committing to significant charitable donations.
Amid the joint launch, the Carter's Charitable Foundation and Once Upon a Farm will each donate $10,000 to Save the Children. Garner explained this philanthropic dimension: 'Part of wanting to be a co-founder of Once Upon a Farm was the idea that we couldn't just feed babies and kids a whole new level of nutrition without added sugar, with real freshness and the natural texture and vibrance of fruits and vegetables; we also wanted to make that level of quality available to more children, through a WIC line by giving back to organizations like Save the Children.'
Supporting Underserved Communities
The WIC program (Women, Infants, and Children) represents a federal nutrition initiative that Garner's brand actively supports. She connected this mission to the Carter's collaboration: 'It makes perfect sense that in this collaboration with Carter's, we would come together to support kids growing up in underserved communities in rural America.'
Garner's emotional connection to the project shines through as she reflects on the significance of children's first clothing items: 'Those first onesies, first pajamas, those first clothes hold so much memory, so knowing that our designs are going to be on these squishy little bodies just brings me so much joy,' the sentimental mother shared.
Navigating Public Parenting with Ben Affleck
The interview comes as Garner's ex-husband Ben Affleck recently discussed the complexities of raising children in the public eye. The Oscar-winning filmmaker told E! News earlier this month: 'You put something on your children when you have a public life and that's complicated.' He emphasized their shared approach to parenting: 'We really want to give them room to figure out what they want to do.'
Affleck added about their children's future careers: 'I wouldn't push them into that. They're brilliant and lovely and wonderful and we love them and we're proud of them. And hope that they don't waste their life acting.' Their children are pursuing diverse paths, with Samuel and Fin as full-time students while Violet studies at Yale University and has developed a passion for activism.
Garner and Affleck, who married in 2005, separated in 2015 and finalized their divorce three years later, continue to co-parent their three children while maintaining successful individual careers in entertainment and business.
