Tom Brady Reveals How His Childhood Affected His Parenting Style — & Admits He’s ‘Screwed up a Lot’ in Vulnerable New Interview
Tom Brady may be practically undefeated on the football field, but in parenting? He still has a lot to learn. The retired NFL quarterback recently opened up about the childhood lessons he brings into his own parenting style and admitted that he’s “screwed up a lot” as a dad over the years to his three kids. The vulnerable new interview makes Brady seem more human and relatable than ever before!
The seven-time Super Bowl champion is dad to son Jack, 17, with ex Bridget Moynahan, and son Benjamin, 14, and daughter Vivian, 11, with ex-wife Gisele Bündchen. In an appearance at the Fortune Global Forum in New York City on Tuesday, he shared how hard it is for his kids to grow up in the wake of his athletic career.
“To be a boy, [it] sucks to be Tom Brady’s son in so many ways,” he said, per Us Weekly. “There’s a lot of challenges I faced as a kid … my kids naturally are gonna be faced with their own challenges, and they gotta figure out how to overcome them. I’ll be there to support them and I’ll be learning along the way with them.”
He also shared a specific situation of how he refuses to be discouraging when it comes to his kids’ dreams. For example, his son Jack wants to be a basketball player, but Brady says, “Unfortunately, he jumps as high as I do.”
“Whatever our kids choose … we gotta support [them],” Brady said. “The blessings my parents gave me was when I was that long shot as a kid who was a backup quarterback on a freshman team … they never said, ‘Man, don’t do that. It’s gonna be too hard. Let’s do something different. Let’s think about another backup plan.’ They kind of said, ‘You know what, go for it. Whatever you wanna be, go for it.’ And that’s probably my parenting style.”
Isn’t that so sweet? There are enough negative voices in this world without your parents adding to it and crushing their dreams too. In the appearance, Brady continued, “I tell [Jack], ‘Dude, you’re gonna be a stud.’ I said, ‘Wait till you hit your growth spurt, you’re gonna be jumping higher, you’re gonna be dunking.’ Whether he does or not, who cares? But I want him to know that his dad’s got his back.” He admitted that he’s “screwed up a lot as a parent” over the years, but he tries to be “dependable and consistent” with his “three amazing kids.”
In August, Brady praised his eldest son on his 17th birthday. “Happy 17th birthday to the kindest, sweetest, most thoughtful 17-year-old, I know,” he wrote on Instagram. “You are truly a blessing in my life and I am so grateful to watch you mature into a young man. Your love of family, friends, school, athletics, hard work and dedication to everything you put your energy into are just some of your amazing qualities.”
He added, “I love spending every minute with you and I cherish our time together. (Those are all my favorite things about you. My least favorite is that you can beat me in one on one now ????????)”
Even though he’s not perfect (none of us are!), Brady does his best to lift up and encourage his kids, and we love him for it.
Before you go, check out the sweetest photos of celebrity kids with their parents at the Super Bowl.