Kelly Clarkson admits she spanks her children if they misbehave

Clarkson said it was 'tricky' to smack her children in public

The American Idol winner has said she's "not above" smacking, admitting, "I do that", and has even spoken about the difficulties of disciplining her children in public.

Clarkson said it becomes "tricky" to spank her kids out in public, because smacking is frowned upon.

Speaking on Atlanta Radio station 94.1 in 2018, Clarkson said: “I'm not above a spanking, which people aren't necessarily into. I don't mean hitting her hard, I just mean a spanking."

The Kelly Clarkson Show host went on: “My parents spanked me, and I did fine in life, and I feel fine about it, and I do that as well.

"That's a tricky thing, when you're out in public, because then people are like, they think that's wrong or something, but I find nothing wrong with a spanking."

Clarkson did, however, say she doesn't just smack her kids on the spot. Rather she warns them first.

She said: "I'm like, 'Hi, I'm going to spank you on your bottom if you don't stop right now, this is ridiculous’.

“Honestly it's really helped. She doesn't do that kind of stuff as often."

It is not known if Clarkson's views on smacking have changed in recent years.

Clarkson shares two children with her ex-husband Brandon Blackstock, daughter River Rose, eight, and son Remington Alexander, six.

She often speaks candidly about parentings, and has told of the "mum guilt" she experienced.

She told Redbook in 2016: “I have a lot of mum guilt. If you’re a mum, you want to be with your kid every day.

“You don’t want to miss a moment, you want her to need you and want you and not want somebody else.”

Clarkson added: “I’m not gonna BS you, that’s hard. There are days where I cry and I’m like, ‘I don’t know if I can handle all this!’ or get it all done.

“But at the end of the day, 99 percent of the time, it’s awesome and it’s worth it, and that’s what I say to myself.”

The star also told how having children "brought fear into her life", because before she became a mum she was "fearless".

"Now I go to bed and I have nightmares of someone just grabbing my little girl and running. “It’s always about me not being able to protect my kids somehow.”