Mena Suvari is opening up about how her own history with sexual abuse has impacted the way she approaches parenting her 4-year-old son, Christopher. "I just feel like I always want to be present, and really supportive of anything that he wants to do or pursue," Suvari, 46, exclusively told Us Weekly while discussing her work with Childhelp. "I really think what's important is just being able to have conversations around things and acknowledge things, because life is life, and it's messy, and it comes in so many different ways. There's so many things that we go through, and trauma is very real. And so with my son, what I want to communicate is that there's always room to talk about anything, and that you can find your way through that and learn through that." Suvari, who shares Christopher with husband Michael Hope, noted that lacking a "space where I could acknowledge, 'Oh, that was kind of wrong what happened to me,'" for herself was detrimental, which is why she wants to make sure what she lacked as a child exists for her own son. "I think I just felt like, 'Well, that's just part of life and part of what happens,'" she said. "There was no real emotional connection or conversation in my family. It wasn't like, 'How are you?' So I try to really have that relationship with my son so that it's emotional as well." Brooke Shields Describes Alleged Sexual Assault in Documentary: Revelations Suvari revealed in her 2023 memoir, The Great Place, that she was a victim of "repeated sexual abuse" starting at the age of 12 when she was raped by a 16-year-old boy. She later went on to date a man in his mid-30s at age 16, who she claims had sex with her and gave her herpes. By 17, she had entered a relationship with a 26-year-old, who she claimed pressured her to perform sexual acts and abused her throughout their three years together. When it comes to discussing her traumatic history with her son, Suvari said she isn't focused on how she'll explain what happened to her. Instead, she'sd determined to make sure her kid can enjoy his childhood for as long as possible. "I mean, he doesn't know what I do. I don't think he has any concept of that, and I don't share him on social media or anything like that," she told Us. "To each his own. I'm not speaking poorly of anyone in their choices, but for me, personally, I just really care about giving him the opportunity to become who he wants to be. I want him to really just feel safe that he can develop and just be a child." As for the future, Suvari said her memoir will "be there" when Christopher is ready. "I'm sure there'll be questions, concerns," she said. Line Cinema/courtesy Everett Collection It isn't all about what Suvari can teach her little one, though - the American Pie actress is learning quite a bit from the 4-year-old, too. "He's an Aries. He's sort of my boss," she added with a laugh. "He's very independent. I feel like he's my greatest teacher." While Christopher teaches her at home, Suvari is determined to be a person of guidance for the young actors she meets on set in hopes of protecting them from experiencing the same trauma she did as a teenager. Sharing confessed she can be a "bit of a mama bear" with younger actors she works with, explaining, "If I can shave off a summer of suffering for someone, then I want to be that person. So I'm always available. I'm always looking to have that opportunity." Suvari added that making connections with new generations of talent is also a "really rewarding" experience for her, because it allows her to live her own "truth" while having "these really deep, meaningful, constructive conversations with people." "There aren't enough words to explain what that does, not only for yourself, but someone else," she continued. "And to me, like, that's so much about why we're here. That's the whole point, is sharing and communicating and learning how to grow and overcome the things that we need to overcome in this lifetime." Suvari pointed out that when she was coming up in the industry, she was unable to "create" those bonds with costars due to the fact she was focused on "just surviving living a nightmare" in her personal life. "And now, as I've gotten older, I just feel so much more open and authentic, and I can really create beautiful connections with people and be there, especially if I'm working with younger women playing my daughter or something," she said. "I's nice, it's beautiful, because I didn't have that as a girl." Suvari revealed that she's had costars "thanking" her for being "so nice," noting that she really tries to "embrace those moments." "I always say, like, 'I'm always here, for whatever it's worth, if you ever want to have conversations or advice,'" she explained. "Because I've learned so many lessons, and I want to make sure that other people take advantage of a lot of things. I think that that's like, what we can give back when we get older. To just kind of say, 'Hey, maybe you should think about this.' Even,