5 Signs That Madonna Is Actually a Strict Parent

Madonna's son Rocco, 13, holds a liquor bottle in this controversial pic. (Instagram)

Madonna kicked off 2014 with a scandal.

The singer, who controversially sexed up a saint in the "Like a Prayer" video, published the explicit book "Sex," and has sported a swastika on her forehead, among other things, is now under fire for sharing a photo of her son, Rocco, and his friends holding bottles of alcohol. "The party has just begun! Bring it! 2014," she captioned the snapshot on Instagram. The problem, of course, is that Rocco, Madonna's son with director Guy Ritchie, is just 13, far younger than the legal age to drink any of the booze in the picture.

Madonna's 17-year-old daughter Lourdes (left) and the star with son Rocco, 13 (right). (Ron Asadorian/Splash News) …

After some negative responses to the image from commenters, Madonna responded with a clear non-apology. "No one was drinking we were just having fun! Calm down and get a sense of humor!" she captioned another Instagram pic. "Don't start the year off with judgement!"

And don't get the wrong idea about Madge, 55, and her parenting style based on that one incident. Over the years, the mother of four kids — including Lourdes, 17; Mercy, 8; and David, also 8 — has made it clear that she's actually a pretty strict mom, who's actually more strict than most parents on some fronts. No, really!

Here's how:

1. She won't let her kids watch TV. Or eat ice cream. Or drink milk. Or read magazines. In an October 2005 interview with Newsweek, Madonna revealed a long list of things that were off limits to her offspring. Married to Ritchie at the time, Madonna made mention that it was her and not him who regularly laid down the law. "When Daddy gets home, they get chocolate," she said. "I'm the disciplinarian."

2. She doesn't give her kids a pass on chores. In the same interview, the "Borderline" singer described what happened when Lourdes, who was 9 at the time, left her dirty clothes on the floor. "We take all of her clothes and put them in a bag, and she has to earn all of her clothes back by being tidy," Madonna said. "She wears the same outfit every day to school until she learns her lesson." That must have been agony for Lourdes, who's so into fashion that she's a creative force behind her mom's Material Girl clothing line at Macy's!

3. She's made iPhones off limits until they're older. Lourdes didn't get one until last year! Even then, Madonna wasn't so sure about her decision. "Ever since my daughter got an iPhone she stopped talking to me," she joked to ABC News in June.

4. Like most parents, she doesn't want her kids doing everything that she's done. When Lourdes was caught on camera smoking a cigarette in 2010, Madonna told "Today" that she "wasn't very happy." Interviewer Harry Smith pointed out that Madonna herself had recently featured a cigarette as a prop in one of her videos, but she wasn't having it. "I don't smoke. That's just an accessory, Harry," she said. "There's a difference. [Lourdes] smoked that cigarette before I did that video!" Madge also noted at the time that she needed to be a tougher parent.

5. She asks a lot of questions. Madonna is not a passive parent. As the "Material Girl" shared with Smith, the Madonna fans see on stage is not the one that her kids get at home. Theirs is the version "that comes home and says, 'Have you done your homework?' and 'Why are you wearing that?' and 'Why did you say that?' and 'What are you eating that for?'"

Sounds like Madonna the mom and Madonna the superstar are very different!