Angela Bassett Talks about Parenting Her Twins and How She Taught Son Slater What It Means When a Girl Says No

Angela Bassett wasted no time teaching her son to respect a girl's "No" from a young age. The actress recalled how she passed across the vital message, and the moment she knew her lesson was well-received.

Bassett, 61, takes parenting as seriously as she does her on-screen work, and the New York City native never hesitates to share wise nuggets that other parents can learn a thing or two from.

Bassett and her fellow actor hubby, Courtney B. Vance, share 13-year-old twins, daughter Bronwyn Golden and son Slater Josiah. Slater and Bronwyn were born via surrogate.

Luckily for the actress, her mother did not doubt the occurrence and put out the unnamed man

The "Otherhood" star recently stopped by People Now for an interview and was asked how her childhood sexual assault experience influenced the parenting of her own children.

"Since they were very, very little, you just give them enough information," she shared. "After about a couple adding little things like that in, then they adopt it and take it."

Bassett continued: "I used to say to my son when he's wrestling with his sister — wrestling back and forth and trying to take her down — and she'd say, 'Stop!' and I'll say, 'When a girl tells you stop, stop. When a girl tells you no, she means no.'"

The doting mom recalled finding out that her lessons were not in vain during a family trip to Mexico:

"At four [years old, we were in] Mexico one time and I'm being harangued [by vendors saying]: 'buy a sarong, buy some jewelry, you want a churro?' And I [said] no, no thank you. And he [Slater] looks at the man and says, 'Hey! When a girl tells you no, she means no!'"

Bassett's commitment to teaching her children about boundaries is informed, in part, by her experience of sexual assault as a child. The "Black Panther" star only recently shared this information.

In October, Bassett revealed that her mother's then-boyfriend fondled her at the age of 12. Luckily for the actress, her mother did not doubt the occurrence and put out the unnamed man immediately.

Taking a leaf from her mom's parenting handbook, Bassett goes all out to make sure her children grow to be well-rounded kids. HuffPost recently curated some of the things she’s said about being a mom, including how she strikes a balance.

"I just try to find a moment, something that we can enjoy together that I know that they would really appreciate," the Golden Globe award winner reportedly said, implying that being a fun mom is as important as being a disciplined mom.

Bassett and Vance, who tied the knot in 1997, maintain strict privacy when it comes to their kids, but from the little we get to hear now and then, Bronwyn and Slater seem to be two very lucky children.