Scarlett Johansson jokes that having a toddler is like ’emotionally abusive relationship’

Toddlers get the best of us sometimes (OK, a lot of the time), and it doesn’t matter who you are—if you’re the parent of a toddler or you have a beloved toddler in your life, you will fall victim to their unintentional machinations. And Scarlett Johansson perfectly explained the whole experience of witnessing toddlerhood in a recent podcast interview.

Johansson has two kids: Rose, 8, and three-year-old Cosmo, who she shares with her husband, SNL’s Colin Jost. During an appearance on Dear Media’s The Skinny Confidential Him & Her podcast, Johansson opened up about what it’s like parenting very young kiddos to hosts Lauryn and Michael Bosstick.

“I remember my daughter,” Johansson said. “My daughter is 8-and-a-half. When she was 2, I thought, ‘This is great. I don’t know what everybody is talking about.’ And then she turned 3, and it was like being in an emotionally abusive relationship.”

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Does it sound harsh? Maybe, to anyone who hasn’t had to actively parent a three-year-old. But where is the lie?

“It’s just so intense. No reasoning. Very intense emotional swings and like, so bossy and adamant, and it’s just crazy,” she continued.

But it’s not all exhausting, tiny terrorist behavior. Because we love them, they can be sweet, and, you know, babies are cute.

Related: Embrace the magic of threenagers: 10 reasons why 3 year olds rule

“Having a baby is so lovely,” Johansson said. “They’re so cute. They sit there, and they love you, and then that’s it. And you just get, like, love from them. Whereas you get a lot of grief from toddlers. Like, everything you do is not right, which is hard.”

My now seven-year-old daughter was the best baby and an easy toddler. She’s always been pretty chill, down for doing just about anything, and listens to me after two or three times instead of a bajillion.

My three-year-old daughter has a backpack with a leash on it. ‘Nuff said. (And she gets away with murder because she’s the youngest and I’m a sucker.)

Related: Why your 3-year-old acts like a ‘threenager’

Johansson also said that being a mom has totally changed how she works and the roles she takes as an actor.

“Now that my daughter is older, I really, you know, I don’t work in the same way that I used to work when I was, you know, 25 years old,” Johansson said. “I was very career-driven and focused at that time, and less focused on personal growth or whatever.”

“I work, like, 15-hour days, you know, so if I’m gonna be working on something and have to relocate everybody, [it’s] adventurous in some ways for the kids,” she explained. “But they also need stability, too.”