The This Means War actress star appeared at the World Conference of Women's Shelters in Washington, D.C., as part of a partnership with the Avon Foundation.
There to raise awareness about domestic violence, the mother of two say she is making sure her kids - Ava, 12, and Deacon, 8 - learn an important lesson.
She openly discussed how she actively talks to her two children about domestic violence, and that Chris Brown and Rihanna are part of that conversation.
"We talk about domestic violence and what that means," Witherspoon, 35, said.
"Although the concept is somewhat foreign to them, they're starting to understand that this happens to families in our country and all throughout the world."
She also doesn't shelter them from the realities of Brown's assault on Rihanna: "My daughter knows what happened to her. My son knows as well."
"We talk about what is abuse. It's important to talk to our daughters and our sons at an early age about what's appropriate and what is absolutely not acceptable."
Judging from mom's open and mature communication style - not calling anyone out while still not mincing words on a difficult topic - Ava and Deacon are lucky.
