Bryce Dallas Howard shares rare insight into parenthood after kidnapping threats

Bryce Dallas Howard is apprehensive about her children after experiencing kidnapping threats when she was a child.

In a new interview with PEOPLE, Howard revealed, “In 2007, it was a weird time for young women in the business. The relationship with paparazzi and all of that was incredibly fraught for so many people,.”

“From a protective place after I had my son, I withdrew a lot,” continued the Argylle star, who was also coping with severe postpartum depression at the time.

Howard explained, “I was actually scared. I didn't want to risk potentially triggering something that would mean a different life for my kids. I also grew up in a situation where there were some real security (concerns) and that's scary as a parent.”

Howard also mentioned, “I'm not very strict as a parent, but I'll ask my kids, ‘Do you think I'm strict?’ And they're like, "No, you're not. Except when it comes to safety.”

Elsewhere in the interview, The Help actress revealed she taught driving to her son.

“He basically can be a race car driver at this point because I'm like, ‘You're not allowed to get your license until you know how to do every defensive driving move imaginable’” added the actress.

For the unversed, Howard plays the role of Argylle, who she believed, “probably the closest to me as a person that I’ve played before”.