Former NFL player and now college football coach Deion Sanders has five children, and all of them have carved out their own paths. Shedeur Sanders has made it to the NFL as a quarterback. Shilo is currently a free agent. Deion Sanders Jr. has built a strong following as a content creator covering the Colorado Buffaloes. Shelomi is pursuing basketball, while Deiondra has stepped into the business world as an entrepreneur and media personality.
Advertisement
All five siblings live under a constant spotlight, yet they’ve handled it pretty well. Surely, a lot of that comes from having Deion as a steady voice in their corner. So, people naturally might wonder if he has some secret formula for parenting.
According to Sanders himself, it’s actually pretty simple. He sticks to the old-school parenting, the kind many people grew up with, similar to the biblical idea of the “Rod of discipline.”
During a recent episode of We Got Time Today on Tubi, where comedian and actress Jess Hilarious appeared as a guest, she and Sanders talked about whether gentle parenting actually works, and both of them were pretty clear about their answer.
Jess admittedly tried the method with her one-year-old daughter, Rachel, but it didn’t quite work, leading her back to a stricter style. She even hinted that she didn’t hesitate to use light profanity, like, “Sit your a** down.”
But not Deion. He admitted that he didn’t use profanity. He didn’t send his children to their room for discipline either. Deion believes that by sending kids to their room, which has all the things to be comfortable and enjoy oneself, it defeats the purpose of discipline, so he follows the ways mentioned in the Bible.
“What am I gonna say, ‘Go to your room,’ to that 45-or-50 inch screen on the wall, your bed vibrating and moving. You got everything in your room. Housekeeping’s there. I’m going to say that? ‘Go to your room’? No. That didn’t work in my house either,” Sanders said while talking about whether he tried out gentle parenting.
So, how does Sanders chastise, as Jess asked? “The way the bible told me to,” he said with a laugh, adding, “Because you church folks going to come at you, so I got to make sure I get about the way the Bible said, ‘The rod of discipline.'”
View this post on Instagram
What is the rod of discipline, you ask? It comes from biblical passages like Proverbs 13:24, which goes, “He who spares the rod hates his son. But he who loves him disciplines him promptly.” This is often interpreted as justification for corporal punishment, like spanking, to discipline kids, teach good behavior and respect authority.
Gentle parenting, meanwhile, is based on connection, empathy and respect. Parents avoid any type of physical punishment, yelling, or shaming. They must focus on natural consequences and emotional self-regulation. While this is the gentler approach, many parents feel it is not always useful when trying to raise a child with good behavior.
But what if a parent does not like either of these styles and wants to meet in the middle? Well, there is the authoritative parenting style, which combines the warmth of gentle parenting with the clear, firm structure often linked to traditional discipline.
