Rachel Riley has revealed the phrase she's not keen on mentioning at home in front of her two daughters, Maven and Noa, and encourages other parents to do the same. The Countdown presenter, who shares her daughters with former Strictly Come Dancing professional dancer Pasha Kovalev, was previously chatting on an episode of the Spinning Plates podcast alongside host Sophie Ellis-Bextor when she revealed the phrase parents should avoid – and for good reason!
The mathematics whizz was discussing how, when children are finding maths difficult, she encourages a different phrasing to reinforce positivity.
"I think it's really important to be positive about it in the same way you wouldn't proudly say, 'I can't read,'" she said, adding: "Don't say, 'I can't do maths,' it's just, 'I can't do it yet'."
Rachel added: "Even if you're going in and trying to help your kids, over the pandemic more people were having to do more maths to a higher level than they did before, as they were helping their kids for obvious reasons, you can go back and learn it together and if you're asking questions, great, it's a learning opportunity."
The husband and wife welcomed their eldest, Maven, in December 2019, shortly after they tied the knot in a gorgeously intimate ceremony in Las Vegas. Almost two years later, in November 2021, they welcomed their second daughter, Noa.
Rachel, 38, often shares updates on her life away from her busy career with her gorgeous family, including fun days out with her daughters.
The TV star shared a heartwarming video of her daughters having the time of their lives at a 'Bluey' exhibition at the South Bank Centre in London just before Christmas, writing in the caption: "This show complete with people-sized Mum, Dad, Bingo and Bluey was perfect for small sized Bluey fans, thanks for having us - the girls loved it!" Little Noa looked right at home with the giant Bluey mascot.
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Meanwhile, the mother-of-two has also been open about her health journey in recent times, and received an abundance of praise from her following on social media after sharing that she had given blood for the 20th time – and for the first time since welcoming her youngest Noa in 2021.
Smiling for the camera, the television presenter looked totally relaxed in the medic's chair with a needle in her arm as she wrote: "Just managed my 20th blood donation @givebloodnhs the first successful attempt since babies, woohoo!" she celebrated.
Rachel continued: "Last time into my third year of breastfeeding my iron was too low, but @wildnutritionltd will be pleased to hear that their iron and vitamins supplements are working as this time they had to use their machine to check my levels weren't too high to donate! (They were perfect)."