Drew Barrymore thanks her mother "every day" for putting her into an institution when 12

She said: "My mom was like, 'Someone figure this out; I can't.' It was like military school for humility and gratitude and perspective. I had none. I had the weirdest life ever. And they kicked my a** until I walked out of there knowing what 'please' and 'thank you' meant for the first time in my life. I thank her every day for it. It was the best thing that ever happened to me."

The 'Miss You Already' star made the "very difficult" decision to become emancipated from Jaid when she was 15 and while they were estranged for many years, they now "speak on holidays and birthdays."

She added: "We have wonderful text exchanges. For the first time I actually feel somewhat protective of her as opposed to guilty or confused."

Drew gave up on the idea of having a family of her own until she met husband Will Kopelman, with whom she now has two daughters, Olive, three, and Frankie, 18 months, but admits being married isn't easy.

She told PEOPLE magazine: "It's a lot to have two kids back-to-back, but I like watching him be a father. I know everyone says you're supposed to put your coupledom first. But I really love it being all about the kids. Maybe that's my compensating for not having parents myself or a childhood, but right now the focus is about how we're figuring things out as parents."