Posted by Adam

Wednesday July 29, 2009

Maggie Gyllenhaal refused to read parenting books or take advice from her friends on how to bring up her baby.

The actress — who has a daughter, Ramona, with husband Peter Sarsgaard — says she ignored any tips she was given about parenting and just followed her instincts instead.

“I think it is different for everybody,” she said. “One thing I certainly have learned as a mother is that it really does no good to judge the way anyone else is doing it.

“I mean it is hard to do and I think everyone has to find what is right for them.”

Maggie, 31, recently revealed that she’s keen to give up smoking.

“Not smoking is a never-ending struggle,” she told Parade magazine.

“You put a cigarette to your mouth, you light it, and you know that you’re hurting yourself. I did it at least 10 times a day and my throat hurt, my voice was gone, but I still was attracted to it.

“It’s the same thing as dating someone who’s not great for you, or staying up all night before you have something really important to do the next day.

“It’s something that we all do, and I’m not exactly clear as to why we do it.”

Tags: maggie gllenhaal