“When I Would Spank Them”: Shaquille O’Neal Protected 3 of His 6 Kids From Bold Parenting Style

Shaquille O’Neal‘s “Vampire Bloodline” grew up with the “Dog Man”. The doting parent recently talked about his experiences as a father to 6 kids, who are all pretty much grown up now. 17-year-old Me’arah O’Neal is now the youngest and she too is on her way to Florida to play for the Gators. Her 4x champion father accompanied her on the campus visit but he was not always able to make time for family.

As Shaq lived a very busy life as an athlete for the majority of their childhood, he had to come up with parenting techniques that complement his lifestyle. On the recent episode of The Big Podcast, O’Neal talked about how he managed to balance life with such a busy schedule, revealing his 60-40 theory along with some other Shaq-tested parenting tips and tricks.

When co-host Adam Lefkoe asked the 7-footer if he ever said something regrettable in front of his kids, the father of 6 said, “All the time…But I have really excellent kids.” Recalling his childhood days, Shaq said that he always got in trouble for his mischievous behavior “no matter what”. However, he is glad that his kids didn’t inherit those qualities from their father. As per the 15x All-Star, his kids were so well-behaved that he never had to bother them with lectures.

Although the Hall of Famer did admit that he had to raise his voice a few times, that’s about as far as he went. And of course, he added that his daughters were protected from that as well. While he would take opportunities to reprimand them, his 3 daughters did enjoy some special treatment. Shaquille O’Neal explained, “When I would spank them[his daughters], I put my hand on top of their hand“ so they don’t feel the pain of it.

The Los Angeles Lakers legend is also very aware of the fact that he wasn’t as present throughout due to his professional commitments. So Shaq took the opportunity to compliment the mothers of his kids for doing a great job at home. This gave him the scope to put his 60-40 theory to use.

Shaquille O’Neal’s parenting is based on his theories

The Big Aristotle revealed that he maintains a scientific balance with his children; he is 60% their friend and 40% their parent. As O’Neal explained, he was so busy handling his role as a professional athlete that he could not afford to miss his chance to bond with them. That’s where the Dog Man came into the picture.

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Shaq said that when he’d come home and his kids would rush to him, he’d say, “I’m not daddy, I’m Dog Man“ and start playing with them.

Apart from being an entertainer to his fans, the former MVP made sure to come up with a lot of fun ideas for his kids’ play-time too. His 27-year-old daughter Taahirah O’Neal was on set at the time, and Shaq got her co-sign on the Dog Man being a hit.

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The O’Neal family’s stories were so amazing that they made his co-host Adam Lefkoe recall some of his childhood memories.