“Our children are not our responsibility. They are a measure of our capabilities” – that is the King of Bollywood believes when it comes to parenting. A disciplinarian but also one of the coolest dads in town, Shah Rukh Khan maybe a superstar but like any other parent, his kids are his priority.
“I love my children not because they are my children, but because I have garnered a friendship with them. I am realising this… as they are getting older, they are my greatest friends. I think my mental age is between 12 to 14, so it is nice to have two friends that I can ever have.”
A father of three- Aryan, Suhana and AbRam, he taught his children to be unbiased towards any religion. “I don’t teach my children what is Hindu and what is Muslim,” said Khan. His wife, Gauri being a Hindu and himself coming from a Muslim background, he keeps Hindu idols at his home beside the Quran. He even his named his youngest son AbRam, after Muslim Prophet Abraham and Hindu god Ram. He also stated that it more important to know about God. Now, that’s something every parent should teacher their children, especially in a secular country like India.
Setting gender-neutral parenting trend:
As a father, SRK makes sure not to stereotype what gender to follow. His sons have been instructed to do as much work as his daughter and not to roam without a shirt at home. Being a gentleman, who knows how to respect every women, and teaches the same to his sons – “I tell Aryan and even AbRam never hurt a woman. If you do, I’ll behead you.”
On parenting:
” When someone says ‘my kid is such a problem’. I want to tell them, don’t look at them as that because actually, their ‘issues’ are a call to our potential. It is a source of telling us we can exceed our energies more than we know.”
SRK even chooses gifts for his daughter’s boyfriend!
While at the David Letterman show, he added that he always wants his kids to leave their boyfriends and girlfriends, but he doesn’t say and knows how to respond well. “I just want to say ‘Just kick the person out’ ugh… But I say you know in life it happens that you have to give and take in relationships darling. I hate explaining it to her (Suhana). I want to tell her this guy’s no good. But I have to and choose presents for him sometimes, which is the worst thing possible.”
SRK learnt to cook Italian for his kids!
At the David Letterman show, Khan said, “I spent a lot of time with them. They always want food at 2 or 3 in the morning. So I am learning Italian food. So whenever that number nine of the kitchen goes, I say, “Yeah! What do you want? You want some pasta?” Would your dad do that?
Education is important
In this tech-savvy generation, Khan did not forget to imbibe reading habits in his kids. The actor has stocked up a plethora of books at his home as he wants his children to learn about everything possible and be knowledgeable. He also made sure to give his sons and daughter the best education possible.