Jerry Seinfeld on kids and family...

I found this article in Parade Magazine, an insert in my Sunday newspaper. Excerpts from his interview below...

Courtesy of Seinfeld reruns, he will always be the single guy hanging out with his Although his own children obviously want for nothing, Seinfeld works hard not to be too indulgent. He bemoans the way some people cater to their children’s every whim. Seinfeld has three rules of parenting, what he calls “the poison Ps.” The first is Praise—“We tell our kids, ‘Great job!’ too much,” he says. The second is Problem-solving—“We refuse to let our children have problems. Problem-solving is the most important skill to develop for success in life, and we for some reason can’t stand it if our kids have a situation that they need to ‘fix.’ Let them struggle—it’s a gift.”

Just as he’s explaining the third P—“Giving your child too much Pleasure”—a woman comes in the deli with her three young daughters and buys them all huge cookies. “Can you believe this?” Seinfeld says, gesturing like his TV counterpart used to. “It’s 5:30 p.m.—when will they have dinner? At 8?”

So why does he think we treat our kids like that? His eyes light up. “Do you want to hear my latest theory?” he asks. “It’s a little far-fetched.” He leans in and explains how children today aren’t as innocent as they used to be. “We feel so guilty for destroying that innocence—which is what we did—so we’re now trying to repair that by creating perfect childhoods for our children.” He laughs, but he’s serious at the same time. “The reason we overdo it so much is because we feel so bad about it.”

Seinfeld also believes that it is best to teach children by example. “Kids are not going to do what you tell them to do or think like you tell them to think,” he says. “Kids are watching how you deal with that waiter or that handyman, and they are probably more likely to imitate you.”

But the comic now has three kids (Sascha, 9, Julian, 6, and Shepherd, 4). “If I was younger, I’d have six kids by now,” he says. “I love it. I love having a family and kids and all the madness. There is no aspect of it I don’t like. Even when it’s horrible, I love it. I didn’t realize how tired of single life I was and how ready I was for married life.”

Seinfeld married Jessica Sklar in 1999. He says he will sometimes pause in the middle of a squabble with her to note that she delivered a great line. Recently, for example, “she told me, ‘I will unleash a freakness upon you,’” he says. “And I thought, ‘Gee, that’s a funny line—I would love that to be on the show.’”

Although his own children obviously want for nothing, Seinfeld works hard not to be too indulgent. He bemoans the way some people cater to their children’s every whim. Seinfeld has three rules of parenting, what he calls “the poison Ps.” The first is Praise—“We tell our kids, ‘Great job!’ too much,” he says. The second is Problem-solving—“We refuse to let our children have problems. Problem-solving is the most important skill to develop for success in life, and we for some reason can’t stand it if our kids have a situation that they need to ‘fix.’ Let them struggle—it’s a gift.”

Just as he’s explaining the third P—“Giving your child too much Pleasure”—a woman comes in the deli with her three young daughters and buys them all huge cookies. “Can you believe this?” Seinfeld says, gesturing like his TV counterpart used to. “It’s 5:30 p.m.—when will they have dinner? At 8?”

So why does he think we treat our kids like that? His eyes light up. “Do you want to hear my latest theory?” he asks. “It’s a little far-fetched.” He leans in and explains how children today aren’t as innocent as they used to be. “We feel so guilty for destroying that innocence—which is what we did—so we’re now trying to repair that by creating perfect childhoods for our children.” He laughs, but he’s serious at the same time. “The reason we overdo it so much is because we feel so bad about it.”

Seinfeld also believes that it is best to teach children by example. “Kids are not going to do what you tell them to do or think like you tell them to think,” he says. “Kids are watching how you deal with that waiter or that handyman, and they are probably more likely to imitate you.”

Jerry Seinfeld | Parade.com