Will Smith Says He Regrets Using ‘Radical Honesty’ to Raise His Kids Jaden and Willow

Will Smith is reflecting on raising Jaden and Willow—and what he wouldn’t do again.

The rapper and actor sat down with Heart Breakfast with Jamie and Amanda, where he revealed that honesty isn’t always best when parenting your children.

“We made a very, very, very terrible mistake with our children and we went with radical honesty. But don’t do it, I’m not advocating for it, I’m not advocating for it,” Smith said. “We made a deal from really young with our kids. The deal was if you tell the truth, you won’t get in trouble.”

The father of three explained that the parenting style backfired with his two youngest kids.

“The only way you can get in trouble in this house is if we find out you did something and you don’t tell the truth. It’s a mistake, it’s terrible. Because they do whatever they want and then just come tell you. It’s awful don’t try it. You want your kids to lie definitely, you don’t want to know some of the stuff your kids are thinking of doing.”

The 56-year-old shares his eldest son, 32-year-old Trey with ex-wife Sheree Zampino, and 26-year-old Jaden and 24-year-old Willow with Jada Pinkett Smith.

Smith recently dropped off his first album in 20 years, Based on a True Story – Season 1: Rave in the Wasteland. The project spawned the No. 1 hit “You Can Make It” with Fridayy and Sunday Service Choir, which topped the Billboard Gospel Airplay Chart, marking his first No. 1 single since 1998’s “Get Jiggy With It.”