Last week, Will Smith discussed his thoughts on parenthood during an appearance on the Facebook Watch series “Red Table Talk”. Smith is the father of Trey Smith (27), Jaden Smith (21), and Willow Smith (19). As a father of three, Smith spoke about wanting to be a dad since the age of 6!
“From the time I was 6 years old, I wanted to be a father,” Smith shared. I loved how my family was, but there were massive critical deficiencies in my father’s parenting that I wanted to correct. By the time I was 10 years old, I remember looking at my father and thinking I could do it better than him.”
However, the reality of being a father quickly settled in after the birth of his oldest son Trey. Smith spoke to his wife, Jada Pinkett Smith, about being a father for the first time.
“I think that was my first moment of the real weight of parenting,” he said. “I brought him home, and I remember we put him in the bassinet… and it was like stark terror. It was like, ‘I’m totally responsible for this life.’ I just cried so hard. It makes me teary right now.”
Megastar or not, parenthood is not as easy as it seems. Smith’s youngest daughter, Willow, had a music career that took off after the release of her hit song “Whip My Hair”. However, by the age of 9, touring began to take up her everyday life. She shared with Smith that she no longer wanted to be a part of her 30-day tour. But her day pushed her to finish her tour dates.
Willow’s response to this completely blew her father’s mind. She completely shaved her head in an act of “protest”.
“My desire for her was overriding her desire for her, and I had a real epiphany on that and how bad a person will hate you if you keep forcing your wishes onto their life,” Smith remembers.
He shared that Willow changed his parenting style by “introducing me to feelings.”
Watch the full episode of Red Table Talk here.