Salma Hayek encourages parents to try harder

Actress Salma Hayek does not entertain excuses when it comes to how much time parents spend with their children.

The 49-year-old Desperado star shares eight-year-old daughter Valentina with husband Francois-Henri Pinault and she is also stepmother to her partner's three kids.

But even though maintaining a happy household while managing a thriving career in Hollywood makes for a busy schedule, Salma refuses to allow her day-to-day obligations to serve as justifications for being a lazy parent.

"You have to drag children into participating in life," she tells Red magazine in the publication's July (16) issue. "It takes a lot of work and mummies are very tired because most of us work and life is exhausting, especially if you are an older mum like me, but you have to make the effort."

After a long workday, some parents allow their children to get lost in technology by using smart phones, browsing on the Internet, reading tablets, playing video games or simply watching TV - but Salma doesn't approve of digitally tuning out for relaxation.

"Now it’s so easy to just entertain them (with a screen), and you don’t have to go through the complaining for an hour about dragging them places," she notes, before issuing a warning to hands-off parents. "Drag them, and make them a part of your life. It’s about the human connection, and the things they can learn from participating in life. Otherwise, isolation starts to happen.”

Salma is very happy with the way her family has turned out, noting the efforts she's put into her brood have paid off.

"A good marriage, full of love, is my biggest accomplishment," she smiles. "Home is where my husband is. He is home. Everything outside of the family nucleus is an adventure that you’re living together (as a couple).”