In a recent episode of her Facebook Watch series Red Table Talk, Jada Pinkett-Smith had a candid talk with her husband, Will Smith, who appeared on the show for the first time for Father’s Day. During the conversation, the two responded to the criticism they received for ‘forcing their kids to work.’
Jada argued that this misconception stems from the fact that their family has been under the spotlight:
“Our family has been under the public microscope for a long time. I think people didn’t understand why we both valued that idea of the kids going to work.”
Will chimed in, saying:
“People thought that we were forcing our kids to work.”
Jada continued, revealing this idea wasn’t a part of their way of preparing their kids for life:
“And that it was part of the education of life for them in so many ways.”
As reported by EOnline, Will stated that he and Jada don’t do punishment for their kids. He said that they were responsible for their own lives, and they allowed their children to have as much control over their lives as possible.
Over the years, the Smiths’ parenting was met with criticism. In 2014, Daily Mail’s Tom Leonard implied that home-schooling had a bad impact on Jaden and Willow, who argued they had the ability to manipulate time. According to the critic, this was something ‘immeasurably bizarre, beyond parody and ever so slightly terrifying.’
In 2018, an episode of Red Table Talk was dubbed ‘freak show,’ and Jada and Will were criticized for allowing Willow to listen to them while they discuss private moments of their life.