Shay Mitchell Reveals She’s Already Teaching Her Baby, Atlas, 8 Mos. About Activism

As she promotes healthy handwashing amid the pandemic, Shay Mitchell is making sure her daughter is also learning about the ‘importance of equality.’

Shay Mitchell, 33, is revealing that she is already teaching her daughter Atlas about equality and activism even though the little girl is just 8-months-old.

The former Pretty Little Liars star tells HollywoodLife EXCLUSIVELY that she thinks doing so is as vital as demonstrating a “healthy routine.”

“It is also very important to explain to her the importance of equality and treating everybody with respect,” says Shay, who is partnering with Safeguard to promote handwashing amid the COVID-19 pandemic. “And letting her know that, no matter what you look like, you should be able to love and be loved with no judgement.”

Reading to the daughter that she shares with boyfriend Matte Babel, is also part of the learning experience. “It could start with a book, like the ones we read to her at night. We will read Dr. Seuss of course, but incorporating other books as well,” Shay says.

“One of the ones I have finished previously is A is for Activist,” the actress says referring to the book written by Innosanto Nagara. “I never think they are too young to at least be learning and listening to us read these books to them. So, that is one way we can start to do that.

“Obviously, if your children are a little bit older then I think you can do some research and watch some things online that are really educational and are super important. Having those conversations with your kids is a good thing, no matter what family you come from.”

At the moment, in addition to raising Atlas, Shay has teamed up with Safeguard to promote the positive handwashing habits we should all have in this time of COVID-19. “I love this initiative, and to partner with Safeguard is great,” she says about the initiative. “They have actually donated $10 million worth of product and have given hygiene education.”

Shay adds, “Having these conversations is super important to underserved communities through organizations like Save the Children, which as we know is incredibly important, especially in today’s climate as things are slowly opening back up and our kids are going back to school. And playgrounds and that sort of thing. So it really is about teaching the importance of washing your hands correctly.”

Shay has even turned to social media to get her message across. “We did a really fun TikTok challenge that anyone can do with the hashtag #SafeguardSplash,” she says, referring to the video above. “People are doing it, so definitely check it out. It is very fun.”