While making an appearance on the Dear Fathers podcast, Shaquille O’Neal didn’t shy away from expressing his true self on parenting. Shaq spoke about raising his children by mentioning a few of his responsibilities as a father. While doing so, O’Neal passed a remark about his parenting, a comment that his sons wouldn’t be the biggest fans of.
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It is no surprise that Shaquille O’Neal has some of the most unique parenting techniques. As shocking as it sounds, giving preferential treatment to some of his children is one of these strategies. Shaq was crystal clear in admitting that his daughters were blessed with more privileges than his sons. Being respectful toward their father, the sons have no problem with the same.
“My girls get more privileges than my guys. My guys understand that and they don’t question that… Got lot more love for the girls than I do for the boys,” Shaq said.
Shaq has inherited a lot of family values from his father, Phillip Harrison. According to the Los Angeles Lakers legend the sergeant often spoke to him about a man’s job being to protect, provide, and love his family. By being a girl dad, O’Neal has been extremely protective of all of his three daughters.
“A man’s job is to protect, provide, and love.” Shaq recollected Harrison’s words. “With me having a daughter, I knew I was going to be super super protective of her,” he added.
Shaquille O’Neal’s three daughters – Amirah, Me’arah, and Taahirah – are his favourites. However, in no way does that imply that the NBA Hall-Of-Famer neglects his three sons – Shareef, Myles, and Shaqir.
Recently, Shaq has been posting about Me’arah on his social media as a proud father. A few days back, Shaq shared his daughter’s achievements on his social media, as Me’arah O’Neal was selected in the McDonald’s All-American Game 2024.
Shaquille O’Neal has often expressed love for his daughters
Shaquille O’Neal loves his children. But he has often admitted to treating his daughters differently and even liking them more. During a conversation with Jennifer Hudson, the four-time NBA champ once revealed how his sons even called him out for the same. However, instead of apologizing to his sons for the same, Shaq justified himself. The Big Aristotle simply stated that he needed to “protect and provide” for his girls.
“I’m blessed I have I have six wonderful kids they don’t give me problems… They (the sons) like ‘you treat the girls different’ and I was like ‘you damn right I am’. You have to protect and provide for the ladies,” Shaq said.
Despite giving his daughters preferential treatment, there is one common rule for all six of his children. If any of them, regardless of a boy or a girl, wanted anything to do with Shaq’s money, they had to have two degrees.
“You can’t touch daddy’s cheese until you get two degrees,” O’Neal stated.
Being an intelligent businessman, Shaq has gathered a massive $400 million fortune. However, he doesn’t want to spoil his children. Hence, by making the smart decision to incentivize them, Shaq will manage to have his children earn two degrees.
