Abhishek Bachchan recently spoke about how he and Aishwarya Rai Bachchan raise their daughter Aaradhya Bachchan. In a conversation with Lilly Singh, he explained that they do not follow fixed roles as parents and instead focus on setting an example through their actions.
Abhishek said, “In my home, as parents, both of us try to be the best example for Aaradhya instead of telling her what is right and what is wrong. We believe in showing what to do by being that ourselves. It’s never been like, ‘Okay, I’ll teach her self-defence.’ If you’ve seen my wife, she can take care of herself. It’s never been divided like, ‘I’ll teach her self-defence, you teach her to be empathetic.’ No, it’s not that.”
He further explained their thinking about parenting. He said, “It’s simply about leading a good, responsible life with your values and morals. Your child sees that, emulates it, and in that way, you’ve equipped them. So there’s no competition at home about who has to be the man or who has to be the woman. When it comes to children, we both believe you have to lead by example, not try to teach them what is right and wrong. Because what’s right for us might not be right for them. Generations change. Our world is very different, and our children’s world is going to be even more different.”
He also shared a personal story to explain how children think in a simple and logical way. He recalled, “We were watching TV when she was a kid, and I was being tortured by Peppa Pig. I said, ‘Hey, Aaradhya…’ You know how kids are, they’re like zombies. I said, ‘Aaradhya, can you just get Papa a glass of water?’ She looked at me like, ‘What?’ I said, ‘Can you give me a glass of water?’ She said, ‘Why?’ I said, ‘Because I asked you to.’ It’s normal, right? I’m the dad, get me a glass of water. She got up, went and got me a glass of water very sweetly. I said, ‘Thank you,’ gave her a kiss, and she sat down.”
He continued, “Half an hour later, she says, ‘Papa?’ I said, ‘Yes?’ She asked, ‘Can you give me a glass of water?’ And I’m like, ‘Go get it yourself.’ She said, ‘Why? If you can ask me, why can’t I ask you?’ I had no answer to that. And I was like, she’s right. I mean, I can’t pull rank on her. She’s right. If she can get me a glass of water, why can’t I get it for her? And I never butted heads with her after that. It’s very logical.”
Through this, Abhishek Bachchan highlighted that parenting for them is about mutual respect, understanding, and learning from everyday situations.