Madonna's relationship with her older children began to crumble rapidly after she did one simple thing: she got them mobile phones as teenagers.
In an interview with British Vogue, the singer said her relationship with daughter Lourdes Leon and Rocco Ritchie "ended" when they discovered texting, social media and all other capabilities that phones have. Because of that, she trying to steer her 13-year-old son David away from having a phone.
"I'm going to stick that one out for as long as possible, because I made a mistake when I gave my older children phones when they were 13," she said. "It ended my relationship with them, really. Not completely, but it became a very, very big part of their lives. They became too inundated with imagery and started to compare themselves to other people, and that's really bad for self-growth."
Of her six children, Madge said David is the one who relates the most to her.
"What David has more than anything is focus and determination. I'm pretty sure he got it from me. He's the one I have the most in common with," she said. "I feel like he gets me — he has more of my DNA than any of my children so far."
As for her eldest child, Lourdes, Madonna revealed that the 22-year-old wants to get involved in show business.
"I'm green with envy because she's incredible at everything she does — she's an incredible dancer, she's a great actress, she plays the piano beautifully, she's way better than me in the talent department," the Queen of Pop said. "But she doesn't have the same drive."
The Internet has taken its toll on Lourdes, her mom said.
"I feel social media plagues her and makes her feel like, 'People are going to give me things because I'm her daughter,'" Madonna said. "I try to give her examples of other children of celebrities like Zoe Kravitz (musician Lenny Kravitz's daughter), for instance, who have to work through that 'Oh yeah, you're the daughter of . . . ' – then eventually you are taken seriously for what you do.
"You just have to keep going. But does she have the same drive that I have? No. But she also has a mother, and I didn't. She grew up with money, and I didn't. So everything is going to be different. But what can I do? I can't fixate on it. I just have to do my best."