Peter Andre's wife Emily admits she avoids complimenting her daughter, 11, on her looks to stop her becoming obsessed with her appearance - and has banned her from wearing makeup

Peter Andre's wife Emily has revealed she avoids complimenting her daughter's looks to prevent the 11-year-old from becoming obsessed with her appearance.

The NHS doctor, 36, revealed she steers clear of praising Millie's physical beauty, instead focusing on celebrating her talents and personality traits.

Speaking candidly on the True Reflections with Gia Mills podcast this week, Emily admitted it can feel 'really odd' to avoid the compliments that come naturally to most parents - but said she's determined not to make everything 'all about how you look'.

'What I try and do with the kids, which I'm sure is what all parents do, is I really try and focus on their strength, the things that they're good at, and really build that up.

'I try not to focus that much on appearance. I mean, that sounds really odd. When you go to compliment someone, quite often, the first thing that comes out is, "I really love your hair, or... you look really beautiful." I think especially with girls.'

She added: 'I do compliment their appearance - I say to my little boy, you look really handsome today.

'But I really try and focus a lot more on their attributes and the things that they are good at. Just to make it not all about how you look. I know that sounds strange.'

Emily shares Millie, Theo, nine, and Arabella, one, with former pop star Peter, 52, who she married in 2015. 

She is also step mum to Junior, 20, and Princess, 18, whose mum is former glamour model Katie Price, 47.

Princess has built a successful career as a beauty influencer, becoming the face of Superdrug's Studio London makeup line when she was 16.   

The teenager, who has over two million followers across all her social media platforms, signed a lucrative deal to help develop new products and create promotional content for the high street giant.

When Princess was just eight ears old, her mum was embroiled in controversy after famously painting her daughter's face with heavy makeup.

Katie later admitted she was 'in the wrong' and that Peter also had strong views on the photos.

Meanwhile Emily revealed she also has strict rules on Millie's makeup use. 'I think I'm probably a little bit stricter maybe than some of her friends' parents and there's no right or wrong because we're all just trying to do our best.

'I think I'm much more on the end of, like, she's not allowed to really wear makeup. She has a bit of clear mascara, a bit of clear eyebrow gel, a bit of lip gloss, but that's about as far as I'll let her go at the moment.'

She added: 'I don't let her put anything on her. I mean, she's got the most perfect skin. I'm much more on that end of the spectrum.'

The healthcare professional and bestselling author admitted it's a difficult issue for parents to navigate due to the mixed messages children receive about beauty.

'We model it ourselves,' she said. 'I put make-up on to go to work and things like that and she sees that, but it's such a difficult message to [get] right: actually, you look beautiful as you are, you don't need makeup.

'But then a lot of my friends wear makeup and I don't want to feel left out. So it's all of that. And I think the balance is okay with her at the moment. She's quite happy with her clear gloss and a bit of eyebrow gel. She's okay with that.'

She added: 'I know as she gets older, that will change. But I think it's about a gradual transition from being a child to being an adult and it's just how you manage those years when they're in between the two.'

Emily also issued a stark warning about the dangers of young girls using skincare products designed for adults, revealing Millie was recently hurt by a sheet mask she got in a party bag.

'Millie, the other day, did a little face mask - the sheet masks. I didn't think much of it, and she said, "Oh, mum, it just really hurt",' Emily recalled.

'It hurt her skin... she had to take it off. I thought, of course, and then I felt really bad. She got it in a party bag or something. It probably was one for adults.'

She warned that expensive adult skincare brands being marketed to pre-teens contain ingredients that are 'not designed for young skin'.

'They've got ingredients in them, a lot of them, things like anti-aging ingredients or ingredients for blemishes or pigmentation,' she explained.

'Things like that are strong - they're for adults who are getting a bit wrinkly or getting some sun spots. They're not for ten-, eleven-year-old skin.'

Emily, who met Peter in 2010 when her father, consultant urologist Dr Ruaraidh MacDonagh, operated on the singer for kidney stones, added the couple have banned their children from social media until they're 16.

'I've said to [Millie], I'm going to try and hold out until you're 16, how do you feel about that?' Emily said. 'And she's like, "okay, we can try and hold out until I'm 16".'

Emily added: 'She's not even allowed WhatsApp. I'm much more on the strict side, but then her school has banned smartphones - well, certainly for her year, I think it gets a bit more relaxed in the older years.'

She said the school's policy has made her life 'so much easier because none of her friends have phones at school'.

'I know it's coming, but she's never actually asked me: can I have Snapchat or can I have TikTok or whatever? I haven't had to have that conversation with her,' Emily added.

Emily added she's worried about the harmful effects of social media on young people's mental health.

'There is no doubt that there's an impact, 100 per cent. There's an impact on adults that I've seen in the work that I've done. 

'And there's no doubt, we know, that there's an impact on teens as well.

'The tricky thing with social media is if you're not on social media and you're the only one, are you getting bullied because of that?

'Is that worse than being on it and being bombarded with all these quite negative messaging, a lot of it, you know, subliminally negative as well. It's a really difficult call.

'I think there's no right or wrong answer. I think however you choose to do it as a parent, you're only doing your best and I never criticise other parents.'