Eva Mendes and Ryan Gosling have spent years keeping their family life as private as possible, and that same protectiveness shows up in the rules they set at home. The couple has rarely appeared together on red carpets, and they have largely kept their two daughters out of the public eye. Even when they made a rare public appearance as a family at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, it only underlined how intentionally they handle visibility. That approach also extends to what their kids can access day to day, especially when it comes to screens.
Mendes, who has been with Gosling since 2012, recently addressed a question many parents recognize immediately. Her older daughter, Esmeralda, is now 11, and the pressure to get a phone is starting to feel real. Mendes shared a reaction online that captured her stance without any ambiguity. She posted a GIF of herself firmly shaking her head and waving her hands no, then summed up the moment with the caption, “When my 11-year-old asks me if she can have a phone.”
The post quickly drew supportive reactions from followers, many of whom applauded her for delaying the jump into personal devices. One commenter encouraged her with, “Be brave. I would wait until she is older. There is time for phones, and so little time to be a child.” Others echoed the same idea in simpler terms, including, “That is exactly my reaction,” and, “Delay it as long as possible. Kids just need to be kids.” Someone even offered an old school solution with, “Show her a landline phone.”
This is not the first time Mendes has made her position clear, and it is not limited to phones alone. In a similar social media post from 2023, she again used a GIF where she gestures no and put the boundary into words. She wrote, “When my kids ask if they are old enough for the internet, social media, or anything that requires Wi-Fi.” The tone was playful, but the message was serious.
When people asked her how long she planned to hold that line, she did not pretend to have a neat, universal answer. Mendes replied, “Honestly, I don’t know.” Rather than framing it as a single milestone that flips everything on, she described it as an ongoing decision. She explained, “I’ll have to see how things develop. For now I just observe them and follow the research on how social media can affect a child’s brain. I’m taking it step by step.”
That response matters because it points to something more complicated than simple strictness. Mendes is describing a moving target where technology changes fast and kids change even faster. Parents are often pushed to pick a side and defend it, either fully embracing devices early or rejecting them entirely. Her comments suggest a third path where the decision is constantly reevaluated based on the child in front of you and the information available.
One follower pushed back with the argument that the internet is everywhere and that kids will eventually need access anyway. Mendes did not disagree with the reality of that world, but she made her household boundary nonnegotiable. She replied, “Yes, that is true, but in my house kids do not have access to the internet. It’s too dangerous.” It was a blunt statement that reflects a fear many parents carry even if they do not always say it out loud.
She went further by comparing internet access to other age restricted activities that most people already accept without debate. Mendes wrote, “Like kids aren’t allowed to drink alcohol, vote, or get a driver’s license, for me the internet is in that category. Especially social media.” That comparison reframes the issue away from convenience and toward risk, responsibility, and readiness. It also makes clear that, in her view, this is not just about screen time but about exposure to adult level environments.
When another person suggested 18 as a reasonable age for that kind of access, she signaled agreement. Mendes responded, “Exactly!” and added a red heart emoji. Even if most families will not go that far, her answer highlights how seriously she weighs the potential downsides. It also shows why her rules are not likely to soften simply because a phone has become a cultural norm for middle schoolers.
In a world where many parents feel they are negotiating with devices every day, Mendes is offering a different kind of clarity. She is not presenting herself as perfect, and she is not claiming she has solved the problem for everyone. Instead, she is drawing a firm line while admitting the future will require constant judgment calls. The combination of humor, honesty, and caution is likely why her posts sparked so much agreement.
More broadly, Mendes and Gosling’s privacy focused approach has always set them apart from many celebrity families. They have kept their daughters, Esmeralda and Amada, out of the spotlight and away from the machinery that often turns kids into content. Limiting phones and internet fits that same philosophy because it reduces outside access to their children and limits the ways the outside world can reach them. Whether you agree or not, it is consistent with the way they have built their family life.
For readers who want a bit of broader context, Eva Mendes is best known as an actress who later stepped back from acting while focusing on family and other projects. Ryan Gosling remains one of Hollywood’s most recognizable actors, and the pair have worked hard to separate fame from home life. Conversations about kids and screens have become a major topic in parenting culture because smartphones, social platforms, and constant connectivity can shape sleep, attention, and social development. Many families try compromises like shared devices, restricted apps, screen free bedrooms, or delayed social media, but Mendes is staking out the firmest version of that delay.
What do you think about Eva Mendes treating phones and internet like adult privileges, and how would you handle the same pressure with your own kids, share your thoughts in the comments.
