Tom Brady Says He's 'Screwed Up a Lot as a Parent': 'Probably the Hardest Job All of Us Have'
"I don’t want to seem like I’m some expert in parenting, because I’m certainly not," the NFL star said on Tuesday, Nov. 12
Tom Brady is getting honest about parenting.
During an appearance at the Fortune Global Forum in New York City on Tuesday, Nov. 12, the NFL legend, 47, spoke about being a father to his three kids; John "Jack" Edward Thomas, 17, whom he shares with his ex Bridget Moynahan, and Benjamin Rein, 14, and Vivian Lake, 11, whom he shares with ex-wife Gisele Bündchen.
"Being a parent is probably the hardest job all of us have," Brady said, per a clip shared on X (formerly known as Twitter).
"And we screw up a lot and I've screwed up a lot as a parent," he admitted.
"I don’t want to seem like I’m some expert in parenting, because I’m certainly not that," the former New England Patriot continued.
"Being a parent is probably the hardest job all of us have. I've screwed up a lot as a parent," @TomBrady says in a candid discussion at #FortuneGlobalForum.
Brady emphasized supporting his children no matter what they want to pursue in life. https://t.co/ZNfwCxb2IG pic.twitter.com/qUVAZOuVYE— FORTUNE (@FortuneMagazine) November 12, 2024
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Brady added that he tries to "be dependable and consistent for them" and supportive of what "they want to do in life" while talking about his "three amazing kids."
He also gave a shoutout to his own parents, Galynn and Tom Brady Sr for supporting him when he "was that long shot as a kid, who was the backup quarterback on a freshman team."
"They never said, ‘Man, don't do that. It's gonna be too hard. Let's do something different. Let's think about another backup plan,' " Brady told the audience. "They kinda said, ‘You know what? Go for it. Whatever you wanna be, go for it.' "
"And that's probably my parenting style," he continued.
Brady has often spoken openly about fatherhood alongside sharing regular family updates on social media.
During an appearance on DeepCut with VicBlends in April, he said that he believed you can improve at being a parent.
"You get better as a parent, I think, because you know when you’re a young parent, you don’t really know what you’re doing. You’re winging it. You’re trying to wing it," Brady said.
Related: Tom Brady Shares Sweet Text Messages with His 11-Year-Old Daughter Vivian: 'Always and Forever'
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"So I think when you become a parent, you’re trying new things for the first time, you’re going through all these things for the first time, so you don’t exactly know always the right thing to say."
"As you go, you get a little bit better at it, you get a little more understanding of it and you try to just continue to kind of refresh your skills as a parent," Brady added.
"'Am I listening or am I talking? Am I mentoring, or am I disciplining? Am I holding them accountable or am I letting them get away with things?' ” the proud dad said at the time.