Anthony Anderson shares his parenting advice as a father: “patience”

Nothing is more important to Anthony Anderson than the family.

Therefore, the family was the focus of the interview with the “blackish” actor Kindred. Parents.com On thursday. Anderson is well known for playing patriarch Dre on the popular sitcom, but it turns out that it’s actually partly based on his life.

“Dre was based on my real life and Kenya [Barris]So, for the past eight years, what we saw on that screen was what we were treating in the family as a husband as a father and a son as a brother, “he shared. “They were stories chosen from our lives that we decided to share with the world.”

As the father of a 26-year-old daughter and a 22-year-old son, he had to learn difficult ways to deal with children who questioned his decision.

“I’m sitting and discussing with them right now, and I’m like,’Damn, why did I raise you this way?'” He joked. “Why can’t you just take what I say and do it?”

Read more: Anthony Anderson graduated from Howard University at the age of 51: “It’s never too late”

Anderson joked that the children were disobedient, but emphasized that it was very important to be given the opportunity to ask “why” in the black community where their behavior was often looked down upon.

“”[My parenting] worked. I have a child of independent thinking that I love and respect, “he praised. “But that’s how I raised them. I raised them to be their own individuals, always speak their hearts and ask questions no matter who they are.” There is a difference between “” and “ask a question”. “Do you want to do this and go there? Well, why?”

For advice to other parents working on curious children, he advised them to be “patient.”

“Please be patient,” Anderson said. “It’s just about patience and allowing them to make their mistakes. We can’t stand up for them and help them navigate them. Commit because parents are already committing. There are some mistakes that aren’t necessary, but each mistake is a learning lesson. We must allow them to make and learn from them, because it keeps patience and understanding. Requires discipline. “

Read more: Anthony Anderson recalls the cheerful reaction of his mother when he met Prince Harry and Megan Markle.

Whether it’s a “blackish” television work or an organization with which he’s affiliated, such as “becoming a reality with diabetes,” the family is at the heart of everything he does.

That is why the actors are so passionate about their awareness of diabetes. Diabetes is a disease that has affected his family for generations and he is fighting himself.

“I was the first in my family to be diagnosed with diabetes, then my mother was diagnosed, and I found out that my father had probably had diabetes for over 20 years,” he said. .. “That’s why it’s so important that I really go out and testify, share my story and help educate people, and help educate the community about it.”