The 52-year-old singer - who has daughter Lourdes, 15, with fitness trainer Carlos Leon, sons Rocco, 11, and David, six, with ex-husband Guy Ritchie, and adopted girl Mercy, five - is currently in a relationship with dancer Brahim Zaibat and thinks it is important she looks for someone who can be a good role model, particularly for her boys.

She said: "It`s important that my children admire and respect this partner that I would choose for myself. Especially for my sons, who have their father but they need a male role model as well.

"So I need to keep this in mind: What is this person modelling to my sons, what kind of man is he, what values does he have, what energy is he giving off? Because they are impressionable. It`s so important."

Madonna and Lourdes launched their clothing line Material Girl last year but the `Hung Up` hitmaker always makes her daughter put her education first.

She told the new issue of Harper`s Bazaar magazine: "I say to Lourdes, school work always comes first, so anything that gets in the way of that falls by the wayside. We put our energy in education."

The `W.E.` director also admitted she "constantly apologises" to her kids because of the unwanted attention her fame brings them.

She said: "The other day, I was out on the street with Lourdes. She wasn`t feeling well and had a fever. She was wearing her tracksuit bottoms and her T-shirt, and she turned around and was like, `Ugh, there`s a paparazzi, and I look like s**t.`

"I felt for her because, I thought, this is an extra layer. It`s already a challenge to have a teenager, then to have a teenager in New York City, and on top of that, she`s the daughter of someone famous.

"It`s a lot. I`m aware of it, and I constantly find myself apologising for it. But it also provokes many discussions with us about what`s real and what isn`t real."
sections: Celebrities