Kiara Advani opens up about motherhood and how she has changed after giving birth to her daughter (Photo: @kiaraadvani/Instagram)In 2014, Kiara Advani made her Bollywood debut with comedy-drama Fugly. Two years later, she made a smashing comeback with the blockbuster hit, M S Dhoni: The Untold Story, co-starring Sushant Singh Rajput. After proving her mettle with myriad characters, the actor tied the knot with Siddharth Malhotra, following the success of their war film, Shershaah. The couple welcomed their first child in 2025.Now, Advani has opened up about her motherhood journey and how she began prioritising her well-being after giving birth to her daughter. In a podcast with Raj Shamani for Figuring Out, the War 2 actor revealed that she has been a people-pleaser since childhood, driven by the pressure to make her parents proud.Advani admitted that motherhood has changed her in every aspect. “I think before becoming a mother and after becoming a mom, I am a completely different person in every way,” she said.She revealed that she has prioritised others her whole life. “For me, my whole life, I have been so other-centric. That’s what’s changed since my baby was born. I finally found the time to nurture the relationship that I need to have with myself, and that’s probably the best thing that I have done for myself,” she added.Further, the 34-year-old stressed that she doesn’t want her daughter, Saraayah, to become a people pleaser, highlighting that emotional security at home can stem such traits in children. She also shared that even after becoming a celebrated actor, she still seeks validation from them.“Till date, validation from the world is one thing, but validation from your parents is completely different. They never put pressure on me, but somewhere you always want to make them proud,” Advani said.“I think when there’s a lot of love and safety at home, children naturally don’t want to disappoint their parents. You seek that validation. But awareness is important too because sometimes these patterns can turn into people-pleasing tendencies,” she added.Watch here:Story continues below this adEmotional approval from parentsAccording to Dr Rimpa Sarkar, PhD, Sentier Wellness, Mumbai, many adults continue to seek validation from their parents because parents are often a person’s first source of emotional approval, safety, and identity formation.“Wanting to make parents proud is also not necessarily unhealthy. In many cases, it reflects attachment, love, and emotional connection rather than insecurity,” she said, adding that, “Even highly successful adults may still value parental approval because those early emotional bonds continue to influence self-perception throughout life.”Balancing expectations and personal identityDr Sarkar further highlighted that balancing external expectations, family approval, and personal identity requires understanding the difference between connection and dependence. According to her, caring about family opinions and wanting loved ones to feel proud can be healthy, but challenges arise when self-worth becomes entirely dependent on external validation.However, she warned that the desire to make parents proud can become emotionally unhealthy if a person begins equating love or self-worth with achievement and approval. Over time, this may lead to chronic pressure, fear of disappointing others, difficulty saying no, or a constant need for reassurance before making decisions.Story continues below this ad“A key sign is when self-esteem fluctuates entirely based on parental reactions or validation rather than internal confidence and self-acceptance,” she said. © IE Online Media Services Pvt LtdTags:Kiara Advani