May 11, 2009, 11:45 GMT
Robin Wright Penn finds her daughter "hard" to understand.
She said: "Girls are hard. Girls are more complicated in a different way. I feel like boys kind of wear their heart on their sleeve, and because it's on their sleeve it's immediate what they feel, 'I hate you. OK, I don't hate you anymore, I'm sorry. This is why I hated you.' And it's over. EPA/ANDREW GOMBERT
The actress - who recently separated from husband Sean Penn, who wants joint custody of daughter Dylan, 18, and son Hopper, 15 - claims the relationship between mothers and their female children is often more difficult than bonds with their boys.
She said: "Girls are hard. Girls are more complicated in a different way. I feel like boys kind of wear their heart on their sleeve, and because it's on their sleeve it's immediate what they feel, 'I hate you. OK, I don't hate you anymore, I'm sorry. This is why I hated you.' And it's over.
"It's the gender thing - trying to communicate, being understood. Mothers with daughters, there's such a push-pull."
After growing up in the public eye, the 'State of Play' actress insists that, unlike their friends, her children are not interested in celebrity lifestyles.
She told Gotham magazine: "They buy their trash mags and watch 'Entertainment Tonight' and all that stuff, but I think it's so boring because they've lived it for so long that it's not of interest."
Instead, the teenagers enjoy using social networking websites but the 43-year-old actress and her estranged spouse insist Dylan and Hopper exercise caution when using the internet.
She added: "They're both Facebook oriented with their friends, but we're always telling them, 'Be cautious, just watch out, because you never know.' It can get so out of hand, I think. But it's the new world - texting and emailing versus conversation."
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