Chris Pratt is getting candid about fatherhood and how he and wife Katherine Schwarzenegger approach parenting in their own unique ways.
During an appearance on Today on Monday, August 4, the 46-year-old actor shared a heartwarming update on his youngest child, Ford, who just turned 8 months old. “Ford, man, he’s doing great. He’s doing great,” Pratt said with a smile. Talking about his wife, he added, “Mama’s doing well. He’s the happiest baby. He’s got these giant, beautiful blue eyes. He’s so special. Everyone says that about their kids, most of them are wrong. I’m not wrong. This kid is very special.”
Pratt continued, saying Ford has a strong support system around him. “He’s got a beautiful mama, a very caring and strong-willed father. And yeah, he’s now one of four of my children, and I’m so blessed.”
Chris and Katherine, who got married in 2019, also have two daughters — Lyla, 4, and Eloise, 3. Pratt is also dad to 12-year-old Jack, whom he shares with ex-wife Anna Faris.
When asked about his parenting style, Pratt said he tries to be more sensitive and emotionally aware. “My style is very heavily influenced by how I was raised. I was a very sensitive kid, but my dad was very tough and very strict. So I tend to be a little more mindful of the sensitivity in kids. So I’m not as tough and I’m not as strict.”
On the other hand, Katherine takes on a different role in the household. “Their mom, however, Katherine, is more of the rule enforcer,” he explained. “We have a nice balance there.”
For Pratt, one thing matters most when it comes to being a parent — just being there. “I think as long as you’re present, you kinda can’t go wrong,” he said. “You’re gonna mess up. You’re not gonna get it right, but you were there, and I think that ends up being important to adults when they grow up and they look back on their childhood, is, ‘Hey, my dad was there, and that’s a good thing.’”
Last month, Pratt praised Katherine for stepping up as a stepparent to his son Jack. Speaking on the Parenting & You with Dr. Shefali podcast, he said, “If a parent is in there doing the hard work of creating structure for a child and holding children accountable, and it’s not a biological child, it can feel thankless. But it’s a really, really important job.”
Katherine also spoke about her experience as a stepparent and revealed she took the role seriously from the start. “I got [a stepparenting coach] right when we got engaged,” she shared on the same podcast. “It’s been incredibly helpful for me and also just understanding my role as a stepparent.”
She explained the challenges of stepparenting in honest terms: “Stepparenting, like parenting, has no handbook. Because I have the benefit of being in both roles. Stepparenting is extra confusing because you aren’t a parent, you’re not a nanny, you’re not an assistant. You have responsibilities in all of those areas but you’re not either of them.”
Despite their different approaches, Chris and Katherine seem to have found their rhythm, raising a blended family with love, balance, and a healthy dose of honesty.
