Robert De Niro Reveals His No. 1 Parenting Rule as He Says Life as a Dad of 7 is ‘Pure Joy’

Robert De Niro is sharing his No. 1 parenting rule.

During an exclusive interview with Entertainment Tonight, the Meet the Fockers actor, 81, talked about everything from the upcoming Meet the Parents sequel to life as an older dad. De Niro, who’s a father to seven children, shared his ultimate parenting rule when it comes to raising kids.

“Well, there’s certain things you can do and certain things you can’t do. The main thing is to support your kids,” he told the outlet. “As long as they’re not hurting themselves, doing anything destructive or anything like that, you have to support them.”

“Even if you don’t go with it or think that they are going at it, whatever it is, you have to support them. And they have to know that you support them. Always.”⁠

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The Academy Award winner and his first wife, Diahnne Abbott, are parents to daughter Drena, 53, and son Raphael, 48. In 1995, he welcomed twins Julian and Airyn, 29, with his former girlfriend, model and actress Toukie Smith. Additionally, De Niro shares son Elliot, 27, and daughter Helen Grace, 13, with his ex-wife, Grace Hightower, and in April 2023, he welcomed a daughter named Gia, 2, with his girlfriend Tiffany Chen.

When talking to Entertainment Tonight about his latest addition to the family, his youngest daughter Gia, the proud dad described her and fatherhood as “pure joy.”

“She’s just pure joy,” he said. “She’s 2 now, so as they get older and older then… you know? But it’s still always wonderful. Pure joy, what can I say?”⁠

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While talking to PEOPLE in February 2024, De Niro said his favorite thing to do with his children is “just be together, taking trips to warm places.”

“The fact that they’d all be together is everything to me,” he said.

Also a grandfather, De Niro said the best thing a parent or grandparent can do is push their kids to reach for their dreams.

“For my kids, I tell them, ‘If you want to be an actor or you want to do this or that, that’s fine as long as you’re happy. Just don’t sell yourself short,’ ” De Niro told PEOPLE in January 2020. “That’s the most I would say — push yourself a little more and reach for what you really think it is you want to do. Don’t be afraid.”

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While speaking with Scott Mills on BBC Radio 2’s The Scott Mills Breakfast Show, the Zero Day actor and executive producer shared that he doesn’t watch as many movies as he should because he’s busy watching the news or television shows with his daughter Gia.

“I just want to keep up, but I watch current events, if you will news [and] stuff like that,” he told Mills. “Now I watch, with my little girl, The Wiggles and Ms. Rachel.”

“I didn’t know of them until I started seeing them and my daughter loves to watch them,” he added. “But they’re great!”