Charlize Theron thinks of her own mum as a parent to her kids and it’s lovely

"I am happier and my kids are happier if I ask for more help."

Whether you're a single parent, are part of a twosome or have the support of a huge family, raising a child is always easier with an extra pair of hands. Charlize Theron is a woman who you'd imagine having tonnes for help for her two kids but she has said the her mum Gerda is the biggest help of all. Thew South African actress, 42, is mum to five-year-old son Jackson and two-year-old daughter August, both of whom she adopted on her own. Speaking to ELLE recently, she said; "I knew that I would have to have my mom help me if I was going to do this as a single parent. To not acknowledge her in co-parenting my children would be a lie." Charlize admitted that she initially tried to do everything on her own. [caption id="attachment_304666" align="alignnone" width="594"] Charlize, her son Jackson and her mum Gerda.[/caption] "In the beginning, I wanted to do it all and didn’t reach out for as much help as I actually needed,” she said. "I felt, If I don’t do all of this, then maybe I am a bad parent. "The second time, I realized I am happier and my kids are happier if I ask for more help. People think I have a staff of 40, but I don’t. "I have one nanny and my mom up the street and amazing friends and family. I call them my village." Gerda loves being around for her grandkids too, by the sound of things. "She has jokingly said, 'Being a grandparent is what I was born to do.' I was like, ‘Yo, bitch! What about me? Was it not to raise me? I’m your kid!'"