Arnold Schwarznegger Threw His Daughter’s Shoes into the Fire and Forbade His Son from Taking Long Hot Showers

• Arnold Schwarzenegger used interesting tactics to get his children in line.
• The actor once got his son to stop a bad habit and taught his daughter a valuable life lesson about family.
• The star welcomed four of his five children with his first and only wife, while the fifth broke his marriage when he came.

Arnold Schwarzenegger is a father to several children who are now grown-ups. However, getting them to adulthood came with challenges and life lessons, which his children have spoken up about.

In September 2023, Arnold, 76, was promoting his motivational book, "Be Useful: Seven Tools for Life," when he addressed the unique way he taught his children life lessons, which his firstborn, Katherine Schwarzenegger, emulated with her own children.

He recalled an incident when Katherine, 33, came over with his granddaughter, Lyla, 3, and she reminded the little girl not to leave her shoes lying around. Katherine told her daughter to put on her shows or put them away, but she shouldn't be leaving them by the stand in front of the fireplace, explaining:

"'Because you know what Daddy did? When I left my shoes there twice? The third time, he burned them in front of me and I cried.'"

Arnold—who's also a father to Christina, 31, Patrick, 30, and Christopher, 26—smiled before admitting that he did burn Katherine's shoes when she was young, and he was proud that his daughter was using the incident as a means to discipline her own child.

Patrick also faced his father's wrath when he used to take long, hot showers. The actor recalled telling his son, "It's over, no more showers. Five minutes, one shower, and then that's it, and we're turning it off."

The new rule kept the boy in check until he started returning to his old ways a few days later. This time, Arnold replaced his shower with one similar to those in Munich that had a timer and would release cold water once the money you put in ran out.

So one day, as Patrick sang and whistled in the shower, enjoying it and thinking his father wasn't around, ice-cold water suddenly poured on him, and the people downstairs hilariously heard him scream!

Despite his strictness, Arnold's children have nothing but love for him. In the past, some of them have opened up about how they feel about him as a father and the guidance he's given them over the years.

What Has Arnold's Children Said about Growing up with Him as a Parent?

During a "Jimmy Kimmel Live" appearance in 2021, Patrick shared that there was a period in his life where he couldn't function without smoking marijuana. During an Easter brunch, his father came and sat down next to him, asking if he was high.

When Patrick admitted he was, the actor questioned why he needed it when he had the best life. He asked his son why he wanted to take something or himself out of his life. Patrick said he stopped smoking pot since.

Patrick is an actor like his father, and when asked why he decided to pursue acting instead of politics, which his family is known for on both sides, he recalled an incident when he was young watching one of his father's earliest movies, "Hercules in New York."

In the film, the iconic actor had a significant gap in his front teeth and barely spoke English, and Patrick thought he was "awful" in the film. Patrick joked that the realization that his father was successful despite being a bad actor urged him to become an actor too.

However, the truth is that Patrick fell in love with acting, which he once called his "favorite activity," joining his father on set growing up. In 2020, he confessed on "Today with Hoda & Jenna" that he was actually sad when his father became the Governor of California.

The younger Schwarzenegger also revealed that his father is "proud" and supportive of his acting career, along with his mother.

While on "The Kelly Clarkson Show" in 2021, Patrick shared the funny side of his father, revealing how the legendary star would utter his popular one-liners in movies in everyday life, including the famous, "I'll be back."

Sometimes, other parents encouraged their young children to get autographs from the celebrity, and the child would look up at the star and ask for something before Arnold shouted one of his iconic one-liners at them.

Patrick has also revealed on the "Jimmy Kimmel Show" in 2022, that his father doesn't have a smartphone and only uses an iPad, where he connects with people through FaceTime. The only phone he has is an old one with a flip which he uses in his car. He jokes that his father prefers an iPad to the newer phones because his fingers are too big for them.

Not many were aware that Arnold actually cuts Patrick's hair until the younger actor shared a clip of his father using a giant pair of scissors to trim his hair on his Instagram. Patrick shared the story behind the clip with Sean Hayes on "Jimmy Kimmel Live."

His father had been trimming his hair with a clipper when it got stuck in his hair, hurting him, and that's when the star walked away and returned with the enormous scissors! Patrick's girlfriend, who was watching them, couldn't help but laugh at the size of the scissors.

While Arnold was proud of the result of Patrick's haircut, deeming his work "amazing," Patrick's girlfriend revealed he had patches everywhere!

For Katherine, life with Arnold as a father could be quite challenging, especially when dating. In 2014, while on "Bethenny," a then-single Katherine revealed how her father would often be part of the conversation when she went out on dates, which could be annoying. Apart from men imitating her father to win her over, some would ask her for tips from her father about bodybuilding.

Despite the challenges her father's fame may impose on her life, during her 2023 interview on " The Jennifer Hudson Show," Katherine admitted to being very close with her family, speaking to them several times daily.

Shriver had a good reason to file for divorce from Arnold, which they finalized in 2021.

As a mother herself, she hopes to raise her children in a close-knit setting too, with good family values and faith, and acknowledging that family is essential.

Despite how bonded Arnold and his children seem, there was a time when a considerable conflict threatened to tear his family apart.

Who Are the Mothers of Arnold's Children?

During a 2023 interview, Arnold confessed to messing up by cheating during his marriage to Maria Shriver. The "FUBAR" actor has since moved on and is now dating Heather Milligan, but he admitted he still loves Shriver.

Arnold and Shriver remain close friends who are proud of how they raised their four children. They've celebrated Easter, Mother's Day, Christmas, and birthdays with their children.

Shriver had a good reason to file for divorce from Arnold, which they finalized in 2021. Two months before her filing, her then-husband publicly confessed to fathering a son, Joseph Baena, 26, with his family's longtime housekeeper, Mildred Baena.