Denise Richards has been teaching her daughters about addiction.
The 40-year-old actress - who has elder girls Sam, seven, and Lola, six, with ex-husband Charlie Sheen, and recently adopted a baby girl named Eloise - felt she needed to "have a conversation" with her children after her former spouse went off the rails earlier this year so they could make sense of his erratic behaviour.
She said: "I got a book to read to them. I was just lying to them about so much, and covering up things and totally lying. It was just getting too confusing that I had to sit down with them."
"It's too early for them to understand. I told them enough for them to make sense of things that were going on."
Denise also insisted that Charlie's recent behaviour - which has included alleged drink and drug binges and moving two porn star girlfriends into his home - is not typical of him and says she believes he will soon get back on track.
She told 'Today' show host Matt Lauer: "The man I fell in love with is very compassionate, humble, has a wonderful heart and the behaviour that a lot of us saw in the last six months is not the person I met and fell in love with.
"Do I worry about him? Of course. He's the father of our children. [But] he's also a survivor. If anyone can pull themselves together, it's Charlie."
The actress also spoke about the new addition to her family, admitting her elder daughters are enjoying helping care for Eloise.
She added: "They are so excited and feel so blessed. They love feeding her and changing her. We're very happy."
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