Why Matthew McConaughey’s Kids Have to Earn Their Own Toys Despite Their Father’s Wealth

Many celebrities, despite their income and fame, try to raise their kids like ordinary people. They hide their children from public attention. Some of them don’t let their kids use the riches earned by their parents because they think they should achieve these things on their own. Examples of such parents are Daniel Craig and Rachel Weisz, and George and Amal Clooney. Matthew McConaughey and his wife Camila Alves are also on this list. The actor has taught the kids discipline from a very early age. And here’s why.

“I don’t judge my parents.”

When journalists ask McConaughey about his parenting tactics, he often goes into the memories of his own childhood. McConaughey and his brothers grew in constant tension. Their parents got married and divorced several times, which, of course, affected their children. As Matthew remembers, he lived in permanent fear. It was his mom and dad’s parenting approach.

When he became a father, he decided to do the reverse thing. Together with Camila Alves, they built a very different relationship with their kids, where the main condition is trust and being able to talk. McConaughey tries his best not to do the same as his parents did.

However, the actor doesn’t judge his parents. They raised kids the way they knew how to. And they taught them many valuable things. For example, they valued their son’s freedom.

When Matthew didn’t want to go to law school and decided to pursue acting instead, his father supported him. Besides, he always felt that his father had his back. No matter what happened, he’d support him.

“I don’t judge my parents or how they did it as right or wrong or ’oh, you can’t do it that way anymore.’ I’m trying to instill the same values my parents tried to instill in us. I try to do it in different ways,” the star says. He tries to improve from his parents’ mistakes and only copies their best tactics.

“I see a lot of myself in them.”

The way Matthew raises his 2 sons and daughter is by keeping a balance between strictness and freedom. The actor sees other wealthy people allow their kids way too much. He thinks it’s much more important to say “no” to kids.

Being born into a famous family is a big challenge, and children have to be prepared for such a life, “If a kid at school ever tells you, ‘Oh, I bet you live in a big house ’cause your dad’s famous,’ don’t bow your head. Look up and go, ‘Yeah, we do actually live in a nice house. My dad works really hard to be as good as he can at his job.’”

There’s strict discipline in the family. They pay a lot of attention to respecting the elders. The younger kids can’t address older people by their names. The actor says they are so used to the words “Mr.” and “Mrs.” that he now addresses his sons and daughters this way too.

Also, no matter what time the parents finish their working day, the kids don’t have dinner until they are home. Besides, from a very early age, they know what it’s like to work. Camila says that wherever the family is, on holiday or at home, the kids always have to clean up after themselves and walk the dog. If they want a new toy, they need to earn it.

McConaughey says he’s a fair parent. He doesn’t agree that all children should be treated equally. No, they should get what they deserve. They should know that each action has a consequence. But McConaughey doesn’t want to spook his kids. The worst thing he can do is ignore his kids for some time.

The way a child behaves is the result of how they were brought up, “I see a lot of myself in them and if I don’t, my wife reminds me ’Yep, that was you.’”

Raising kids is a two-sided game. And kids often give valuable lessons to their parents. Here’s proof. Matthew and Camila met in 2006. They started dating almost right away but didn’t rush to get married. The couple didn’t want to be like Matthew’s parents who got married and divorced 3 times. Why play this lottery if they are already happy?

So, the years passed until the older son Levi asked him why Camila was not a McConaughey. The father was startled by the question. Did he not want Camila to become part of his family?

His son made him look his fear in the eye. He didn’t think marriage was unimportant, he was scared of it, and it was time to fix it. In 2011, in front of his parents, Matthew proposed to Camila. And she said no! He had to convince her to marry him. So, they got married and then had their third child.

What other problems do you think the children of famous parents have to deal with?