Mistake That Made Them Better Parents: Will Smith now questions one piece of advice he gave his children about honesty

There should be no lies between parents and children. This is necessary not just for bringing up kids who are truthful and do not engage in white lies, but also because it has consequences – children who lie to parents or engage in some illicit acts may become embroiled in trouble and find no way out. Children, no matter how intelligent, still need guidance from parents to get ahead in life. In an appearance on the UK radio show Heart Breakfast, Hollywood superstar Will Smith said he and his wife Jada decided to be radically honest as parents to Willow, Jaden and Trey. “I'm not advocating for it. We made a deal really young with our kids. The deal was if you tell the truth, you won't get in trouble. The only way you can get in trouble in this house is if we find out you did something and you don't tell the truth,” said The Pursuit Of Happiness star.

"It's a mistake. It's terrible because they do whatever they want, and they just come tell you. It's awful; don't try it. You want your kids to lie. You definitely don't want to know some of the stuff your kids are thinking of doing,” he added.

In an earlier interview with Jimmy Fallon, Smith said he and his wife, Jada, have created a circle of safety where the children could open up about their mistakes, even the “bad things” they had done, without fear of being judged or getting into trouble.

A Look Into His Unorthodox Parenting Techniques

In a chat with E News, the Men In Black star declared that he never punishes his kids. He avoids corporeal punishment or making his children suffer. “We don't do punishment. The way that we deal with our kids is, they are responsible for their lives. Our concept is, as young as possible, give them as much control over their lives as possible, and the concept of punishment, our experience has been—it has a little too much of a negative quality,” he said.

In a chat with BBC 1 Radio, the Bad Boys star said he encourages his kids to be creative. He referred to Jaden’s gender-fluid fashion and his fearlessness when it came to embracing unconventional sartorial choices.

“There's a really powerful internal quality as an artist that, as parents, we encourage. You have to get out on the edge, you have to try things, you have to be comfortable doing things that people don't agree with, and you have to be comfortable doing things that you could fail,” he said.

He Encourages Them To Be Authentic

In a chat with Haute Living, the superstar said he encourages his kids to be authentic and be themselves. "There's a concept of your children being property, and that was a major part that Jada and I released with our kids. We respect our children the way we would respect any other person. Things like cleaning up their room. You would never tell a full-grown adult to clean their room, so we don't tell our kids to clean their rooms,” he said.