Katherine Schwarzenegger Talks Navigating Boundaries with Parents and In-Laws in New Interview Series (Exclusive)
In 'The Grandmother Project', Schwarzenegger Pratt and her mom Maria Shriver host intimate conversations about the beauty of "grandmothering"
For Katherine Schwarzenegger Pratt, being able to rely on her mother as she navigated becoming a mom herself has been everything — but she knows that's not the case for everyone.
As she's entered this new chapter in her life, the Good Night, Sister author, 34, says she has been lucky to be blessed with amazing maternal figures in her life — both her mom, Maria Shriver, 68, and her mother-in-law, husband Chris Pratt's mom Kathy.
But as her daughters — Lyla Maria, 3½, and Eloise Christina, 23 months — have gotten older, Schwarzenegger Pratt has realized that not everyone has had the same experience.
"My mom and I are always really close and talk several times a day about everything," Schwarzenegger Pratt tells PEOPLE. "And it's been such a beautiful experience to be able to step into my journey with motherhood and also watch my mom step into her journey in grandmotherhood."
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Noting that the two often talk about how Shriver has been evolving as a grandma, Schwarzenegger Pratt says that she often discusses motherhood with her mom because "I want to do so much of the same that she did with us kids when she raised us and continues to raise us."
After having her second daughter with Pratt, the mom of two says that she and Shriver noticed that so many parents her age and grandparents her mom's age have these same types of conversations, and often vocalize struggles they have with their parents or in-laws.
"We always find ourselves talking about that subject, how to be a grandparent, how do you respect boundaries, when do you overstep boundaries, how do you deal with in-laws balancing all of the parts of grandmotherhood," Schwarzenegger Pratt continues.
As she was sitting with her mom over Christmas break, Schwarzenegger Pratt remembers coming up with the idea of The Grandmother Project, a four-part digital series in collaboration with Babylist and Nuna that operates on Schwarzenegger Pratt's Before, During & After (BDA) Baby interview-based series.
"We came up with this idea to together have this conversation about grandmotherhood and to be able to do it with other grandparents and other new parents," Schwarzenegger Pratt says. "And it turned out to be such a beautiful, kind of first special edition version of BDA Baby."
The series features four different episodes that explore the relationships between mother and daughters, daughters-in-law and mothers-in-law, and spans topics such as how the role of a grandmother has changed and balancing parenting advice with parenting boundaries.
Although the first three episodes are already out, the series culminates with an episode on Sunday, May 12, with Camila Alves McConaughey and her mother-in-law, Kay McConaughey, covering the journey Camila and Kay went to get to where their relationship is now.
"We learned a lot from that episode," Schwarzenegger Pratt admits. "I think my mom was also able to ask her questions since my brother's recently engaged. And it's a totally different dynamic with your daughter marrying someone and then your son marrying someone."
"Since I got engaged to Chris, [my mom] has always been very mindful that these are people we're bringing into our family and I want to make sure those relationships are great relationships," she continues.
"My mom is always checking in to make sure if I invite her over to watch a movie or have dinner, she's like, 'Is Chris good with that too?' Because her relationship with Chris and also with my brother's future wife is super important to her, and I think that that's such a beautiful thing."
Schwarzenegger Pratt says she's "very lucky" in her relationship with her mother-in-law as well, noting how "wonderful" she is.
"My mom and her are the same age and they get along so well together," she says. "So it's been a really pleasant experience, but the reality is that there's so many people who do not have that experience."
"It's a great way to be able to learn what to do and what not to do by talking to other people who have come out the other side from a rocky relationship and are able to look back and reflect on maybe what they wish they had done differently," Schwarzenegger Pratt explains.
As she and Shriver were able to have that candid conversation with Camila and Kay, the mom of two says she's happy people will get to learn from their episode.
"I'm really excited for people to see it, to be able to learn and listen and just kind of marvel at how incredibly close they are and what a beautiful relationship they have now," adds Schwarzenegger Pratt.
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