Susan Sarandon's children were "shocked" to see her dating again.

Susan Sarandon

Susan Sarandon

The 69-year-old actress - who has daughter Eva, 31, from a previous relationship with filmmaker Franco Amurri and sons Miles, 24, and Jack, 27, with her former partner Tim Robbins - has admitted her brood found it difficult seeing their mother as a single woman and dating again after she split from her ex-husband in 2009.

Speaking to Metro newspaper about her love life, the red-haired beauty - who was married to Chris Sarandon for 12 years until 1979 - said: "It was shocking to them [her children] to see me dating - or even going out."

And the 'Mother's Day' star has revealed she is trying to become more "authentic" and is teaching her children to be kind and as true to themselves as possible.

She explained: "I tell my kids: kindness and authenticity, that's your goal. It takes a lifetime to get there but I hope I'm closer and closer to being authentic."

Meanwhile, Susan didn't think she'd return to acting after having children and never thought she would continue to make movies in her 60s.

Speaking previously, she said: "For me, it was always a means to an end, so I took years off to have kids and I thought I would never work again. But somehow I worked again and now I am old, I'm still working."

Susan, who is set to become a grandmother for a second time as her daughter Eva is expecting her second child, has admitted babysitting her grandchildren is a lot easier than bringing up her own children because she doesn't have to "worry" about them constantly.

She explained: "Being a grandmother is so much easier than being a mother. You don't have that constant worry that's in your mind all the time."