Matthew McConaughey & Wife Camila Alves Open Up About the Importance of 'Tough Love' in Parenting

Matthew McConaughey and Camila Alves are giving back.

The married couple are on the cover of Town & Country Magazine‘s annual Philanthropy Issue, out now.

PHOTOS: Check out the latest pics of Matthew McConaughey

Here’s what the 50-year-old actor and 38-year-old model and designer had to say…

Camila, on why she and Matthew began Just Keep Livin’, a non-profit they founded in 2008 to empower high school students to lead active lives and make healthy choices: “When you have your first child and you’re in the position that Matthew is, whoever gets that first photo will make a lot of money. When we found out that the person was going to make over a million dollars on a photo, we were like, ‘No. We’re going to do an exclusive and get the money and put it into the foundation.’”

Matthew, on giving back: “Being able to give back in ways is a selfish endeavor. It feels good to me to see a smile or hear a young person say thank you. That’s called a selfless act? I call it a selfish act.”

Matthew, on how he raises his children: “Sometimes loving your kids means giving them just what they want. Other times it means tough love. Affluent people can give their kids everything they want, but they’re not usually going to get what they need. Loving a child is a lot harder if you really give a damn. ‘No’ takes a lot more energy. It’s a lot easier to say ‘yes.’”

Matthew, on which one of them says “no” more: “From the snicker that my wife’s giving me, it seems that I’m more consistently the yes guy. She’s probably right.”

Matthew recently had an uncomfortable conversation…

For more from Matthew and Camila, head to TownAndCountryMag.com.