Joy Behar Jokes About Her Parents’ Lax Way of Raising Her on ‘The View’: “I Was a Wolf in the Woods”

It looks like Joy Behar had the rule of the roost growing up in her house. While speaking about different parenting styles on today’s episode of The View, the co-host, who also happens to be an only child, opened up about her chill upbringing.

Whoopi Goldberg introduced the Hot Topics segment, which centered around a mother who said that she doesn’t have a specific bedtime for her one-year-old. The moderator explained that the mother also doesn’t believe in punishing her daughter or making her share, as she hopes she will “develop naturally” and “grow into someone who can stand up for herself.”

“I say let’s meet the child in five years and see who she is,” Goldberg joked.

While Sara Haines said she’s a fan of a strict schedule for her kids, Behar told the panel that she raised her daughter the same way she was raised: like “a wolf, basically.”

“I was a wolf in the woods. They let me do whatever I want,” she revealed. “They asked my mother one time, ‘How come Joy didn’t go to Catholic school?’ She said, ‘She didn’t want to.’ I mean that was it. I decided what I was gonna do.”

Behar added that like herself, her daughter is an only child, so she raised her in a “very permissive way.” However, the comedian made sure to note that “you don’t know what’s going to come” of your parenting style, and she’s the proof. Despite her upbringing, Behar said her own daughter is now “like Mussolini” with her son (Behar’s grandson).

“She’s very strict. He goes to sleep at this time. He has to read 20 minutes before bed. He has to do his homework before he gets to watch TV. All of that,” she explained. “She’s very good with that. And I think it’s been good, especially with a boy.”

The View airs on weekdays at 11/10c on ABC.