There are many times when celebrities keep their lives rather close and they don’t let anyone see inside. Every once in a while, however, they may open up publicly and you might be surprised to learn what is actually taking place. In a recent episode of Red Table Talk, Jada Pinkett Smith revealed that her son, Jaden, wanted to be legally emancipated when he was only 15 years old.
Jada had her son come out onto the show so they could go over the moment together. She also brought her daughter, Willow onto the show as well. She described it in the following way:
“At 15 years old, Jaden, and I remember this day specifically, it’s probably one of the most heartbreaking moments of my life. You got to a point where you told me straight up, you were like, ‘Mom, I have to leave here to live my life.’ I remember thinking to myself, as devastated as I was, I was like, ‘He’s right.’ The time is now. He’s 15. It’s time for him to leave the house.”
Thankfully, Jaden decided against going through with the emancipation. It wasn’t, however, because Jada stopped him from doing it.
Any parent would be devastated to hear that their child wanted to leave home in this way.
On a recent episode of Red Table Talk, Jada, along with her family, explained that things were not always normal at their house when the children were growing up.
Jaden was born in 1998 and he was Jada’s firstborn child. Jada and Will wanted their children to be independent individuals. Would that also include moving out when you were 15 years old?
Jaden realized that it could be quite difficult to grow up in a wealthy, famous household. There is no doubt that Jaden felt somewhat sheltered. He said:
“Being in this lifestyle, in this world is a bubble and he wanted out. I understood that because I didn’t have the bubble.”
Jada didn’t grow up with a silver spoon in her mouth. She lived in a working-class neighborhood in Baltimore, Maryland.
Jada talked to her mother, Adrienne, who was much more traditional in her role as a parent. She said, “I knew what having my freedom outside the bubble, what I gained from that.”
“I knew the sooner I let him go, the faster he was going to come back.”
It seemed as if she must’ve done something right. Jaden decided that he would stay home longer because he realized he had everything he needed. At the time, he simply said: “I’m not going anywhere.”
His mother said that every child needs something different. She always knew that Jaden was independent, ever since he was a young child.
Other people had a lot to say about this approach to parenting.
Some of the fans agreed that 15 was too young to move into their own home.
“He’s still a kid,” said one Twitter user. Another agreed: “Still a child.”
Others had a different perspective. Even if you are independent and mature, you aren’t legally allowed to go into an R-rated movie by yourself. How could you possibly run a household?
Some people were looking at things from Jaden’s perspective.
Other fans didn’t find it to be all that alarming. Some teens will live on their own from a young age, either by choice or because of circumstances.
Perhaps this wasn’t the worst choice in the world.
There were others who were pointing to the fact that these children were growing up in strange circumstances compared to most people.
One thing is certain, it was a controversial statement and many parents began to question their own type of parenting.
Now that Jaden is 19 years old, he has been living on his own for a year. He does come back to visit frequently.