In the Baby Zone with Samantha Harris

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Samantha Harris, host of NBC's Stars Earn Stripes, has earned her own hard-earned stripes as General Mom to Josselyn Sydney (born September 2007) and Hillary Madison Hess (born January 2011).

Here Harris shares her thoughts on the power of parenting with consistency, consequences, and relinquishing control.

What's your golden rule of parenting?

Consistency. Following through. Setting consequences and following through with what they are. And that works on the flip side, too: consistency with positive reinforcement.

Describe the best moment of parenting so far.

Does that mean you're also going for a worst [laughs]?

Seeing the success that my older daughter has had in her swimming, her confidence in the pool, and seeing how proud she is of herself in the accomplishment that she's had because of her confidence in the pool.

Seeing that in anything she does, and of course as our 18-month-old starts to do more, seeing it in her as well, is the most rewarding thing as a parent because I feel like I have enabled them to take control of themselves because we can't always be there to parent.

And the worst?

Any time that I happen to pick up my Blackberry when I should be focusing on my kids after work. I try really hard to put it away when I walk in the door, because that undivided attention is so important. But there are some days inevitably [where] I creep over to look at it, and I'm always so disappointed when I do. We try really hard not to let our older daughter have too much screen time, whether it's looking at videos on our phone or watching TV. We really limit all of it. I hope I'm not doing her a disservice not letting her enough time on the computer because other kids are so far ahead. I need to find some balance and maybe find some educational games that she can play so she knows her way around a computer.

Best advice you ever got?

You can't control everything your child does.

What's the one thing you can't live without?

Our car seats. I'm keeping my older one in a 5-point harness car seat as long as possible because it's the safest way in a car. I almost wish I had a 5-point harness in the driver's seat, to be honest.

Finish this sentence: You know you're in the Baby Zone when...

… you're rocking back and forth even though you're not holding your baby [laughs].