Father of 1, Charles Barkley Tarnishes Popular Parenting Belief With 5-Worded Stinging Reality Check

It’s a belief in the modern world that a father has to be a friend first before being a parent. This is a strong case, especially when it is a dad and a daughter bond. Looking at how cool of a person Charles Barkley is, one would assume he’d be fine being a friend to his only daughter. Contrastingly, that is not the case at all. The Philadelphia 76ers legend has his ways of upbringing, and he would never be a friend to his daughter whatsoever. 

In his podcast The Steam Room with TNT co-host Ernie Johnson, Barkley delved deep into the above case. He shared with Johnson, “I think the most important thing is you have to pick your kid’s friends. Cuz you know when your kids are young, they’re stupid. And their friends have a huge influence upon them. Number one, you can’t be their friend, you’re their parents.” Barkley is firm with this decision of his. It was a message from him to all the parents in the world. But hold on, he’s got another thing to say. 

“Second thing is, I wanted to know who the kid’s parents were, because like I said, that’s when you set yourself up for success and failure in my opinion. They always had to come to my house…My daughter is an amazing kid, but hey I’m not your friend, I’m your dad,” Barkley ascertained.

So Barkley’s message is clear. He does not want to be modern or trendy and follow the parenting beliefs that have come up of late. He loves to be old school. Anyhow, what matters at the end of the day is if you are a good parent. Barkley is a great parent and below is the case for it. 

Charles Barkley did not force his daughter to play basketball despite his desire

As an NBA Hall of Famer and a basketball legend, Barkley wanted his daughter to continue his legacy. However, Christiana Barkley took up a career in journalism. When she was young, Barkley tried teaching her everything he mastered from the game, but he later got to know Christiana hated the game he loved the most. 

In an interview for CBS last year, Barkley shared, “I can’t wait to see she is old enough, I am going to teach her everything. And then we start playing, and I am sitting in the stands. And I am saying to myself, ‘Oh man, she is not aggressive at all.’ So, I ask her one day, ‘You don’t like basketball, do you?’ ‘No, I hate basketball,’” Barkley was heartbroken, but he wanted his daughter to do what she loved. This is exactly why the 1993 All-Star is a great father.