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Nia Long and her son Kez recently reminded the actress’s over 4.5 million Instagram followers that it’s okay to be soft.
The unexplained yet encouraging caption, “Only be hard when you need to be 😘,” was accompanied with a photo of the longtime Hollywood actress and her youngest child. The You People actress shared the message Aug. 13.
Nia, 52, and Kez, 11, leaned their heads closely together to capture their mother-son selfie.
Throughout the years, Nia has shared several loving posts documenting her relationship with Kez.
In photo captions the doting mama has uploaded, she’s called her youngest child her “juicy baby,” “favorite travel partner,” “mini-me,” and “amore mio [my love].” The photos shared usually capture the mother-son duo’s adventures and quality time together.
Nia shares Kez with her ex, Ime Udoka. The actress had her eldest son, Massai, 22, with actor Massai Z. Dorsey.
In a February interview with The Cut, the mother of two warmly reflected on carrying Kez while being 40+.
“I thought if it was meant to be, it would happen, and I wasn’t going to worry about it either way,” she said. “When it happened, it was pretty exciting.”
Regarding parenting, Nia explained that her focus surrounds teaching her boys how to treat women with respect. The longtime actress’s insight came after Ime’s infidelity scandal with a staffer for the Boston Celtics was exposed in September 2022. The end of the former couple’s over decade-long union made headlines that December.
“I have old-school ways, and I have new-school ways, and I’m still figuring it out,” Nia told The Cut. “I’ve made plenty of mistakes as a mother. I’ve learned about myself through my parenting. Do I have regrets? Of course. But they’re not regrets that were life-changing and devastating.”
“I also know that the world is tough. And if you prepare your boys for that, they can assert themselves in difficult situations without seeming like spoiled brats but like young men who are not afraid to lead the way and are gentlemen and respectful of women. That’s my biggest thing right now,” the actress added.
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