Brooke Shields Opens Up About Raising Her 2 Daughters in a World Where 'Everything's Higher and Tighter' Now

The actress shares daughters Grier, 18, and Rowan, 21, with longtime husband Chris Henchy

Brooke Shields wants her daughters to feel comfortable in aging as naturally as she is.

The actress, 59, spoke with Real Simple for their cover story and shared what it's been like raising her two daughters — Grier, 18, and Rowen, 21 — in a culture that seems to be so obsessed with being younger.

"I look at my two girls — everything's higher and tighter and smoother. And I know it's all appealing and it does sell, but I want my girls not to be terrified to be my age," Shields tells the outlet.

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Related: Brooke Shields Shares Sweet Family Snaps with Her 2 Daughters and Husband Chris Henchy from Their Christmas Celebration

While chatting with PEOPLE for an August cover story, Grier and Rowan revealed their thoughts on the nepo baby conversation.

“My mom says I can get you in a room but I can’t get you to stay there,” said Grier, a college freshman who’s recently begun to model and who has a contract with Tommy Hilfiger.

“People have referred to me by that term a bajillion times,” she noted. “It doesn't really affect me because they are sitting behind a screen commenting on my social media [but] it hurts my feelings. Obviously wanting to model and having a mom that models, helps, but also if I get there and they hate the way I look, they’re not going to ask me to come back.”

“Having a famous mom can only get you so far,” she continued. “If I sucked at my job, I’d be fired. If Rowan sucked at her job, she’d be fired. (Rowan, 21, a college senior, spent the summer as an intern at Good Morning America.) “You have to be good at what you’re doing to keep the job."

As Rowan put it, “I work as an intern and I’m constantly asking ‘What do you need?’ " Still, she added with a smile, “It would be a waste if I went about my life and didn’t use her a little bit.”

"In a weird way, I think it makes them work harder," Shields said. "I will say to Grier, it’s going to be uncomfortable, you're going to be tired. There’s going to be dismissiveness or discomfort in what you’re wearing and that’s just the way it goes. You arrive early and leave after everybody and that means something.”