Actress Dascha Polanco doesn’t consider herself a strict parent. Instead, she prefers the term “free range” parent. 

“I may not say strict, but I am going to say that I am a free-range parent,” Polanco told People's Celeb Parents Get Real.

While she admits there are still boundaries and rules when it comes to raising her two children, she wants them to be “independent and successful.”

“Not that my kids are going to run around like chickens and hens, but that they will be independent and successful, yet [have] rules,” adds 35-year-old mother, “because I am the parent and always embracing their individuality and creating gender-neutral homes.”

For those who don’t know, the Orange Is the New Black actress is the mother of daughter Dasany Kristal, 16, and son Aryam, 9.

Being Dominican, Dascha values culture and considers it a “very important” element to the lessons she is passing on to her children.

“Coming from the Dominican Republic, I do instill in them our culture, language, music, and confidence,” she says. “I was the most beautiful thing for my mom. She loved my legs, she loved how alive I was and how ‘viva, viva, viva’ I was, meaning ‘alive’ in Spanish, and that is what I love sharing [with] my kids.”

The Brooklyn-bred actress is completely committed to building her children’s confidence. She said that making mistakes is a part of growth and says seeing her darling children make mistakes is a sign of growth and it is a “rewarding” experience.

“That is the most rewarding — for them to turn around and say, ‘Oh, I don’t want to leave to college because I love you, Mom’ and I’m like, ‘No, you’re leaving, bye,’” Polanco explains.

Sounds like this mother knows exactly what she wants for her children!