Eva Longoria Talks Motherhood and the Values She Hopes to Instill in Her Son (EXCLUSIVE)

While fans may know Eva Longoria as an award-winning actor, producer, and director — at home, she's simply known as mom. In 2018, the Desperate Housewives star welcomed her son, Santiago Enrique, with husband José "Pepe" Bastón.

In an exclusive interview with Distractify, Eva opened up about motherhood, including what she's learned from her four-year-old son since becoming a first-time parent, as well as what she hopes to instill in him as he gets older.

While balancing several projects and her home life, Eva told us that since becoming a mom, she has learned to be more patient.

"I consider myself to be patient, but like, when you have kids, it really tests your patience," she laughed. Plus, balancing between "stepping back" and letting your child explore and "be who he is going to be" while also still "putting up the guardrails" is something the mother-of-one has learned.

"So learning about patience and boundaries, I think has been big," she added.

Though parenting can teach us about ourselves, it can also feel fulfilling to educate your little ones on what's important to you. And for Eva, that's philanthropy and giving back to her community.

"You can't really tell your kids to be philanthropic, but you can show them," she said. "[My mom] instilled this philanthropic mind very early on and she introduced us to volunteerism very early on [...] and to recognize our place of privilege," which is what she hopes to instill in her own son.

And, Eva told us that she loves that her son is "so curious" and is not afraid to ask questions. "So I'm never frustrated by his like, 'But why?'

"I hope that's the man he'll be ... 'But why? Why are things like that? That's not right.' You know?" she added.

With philanthropy an important part of her background, Eva has partnered with Kellogg's for their Breakfast For All campaign, which will donate $1,000 to No Kid Hungry for every purchase of an "Eva's Breakfast Bundle." Plus, for fans that purchase the breakfast items, some will even be signed by the actress.

"I'm an advocate for many things, but I get really excited when a brand as big as Kellogg's comes to me and wants to collaborate on this important topic," Eva told us. "I've had a lot of experience with different charities in regards to hunger and I think people don't realize here in the US, it's a very big issue, food Insecurity is a very big issue."

"If you're buying your breakfast cereal anyway, why not do good?" she added. "And help us focus on ending child hunger in America."