It’s okay to ask for help — and to indulge in a glass of wine after a long day with the kids! Eric Decker spoke to Us Weekly exclusively about his parenting dos and don’ts.
The retired professional football player, 32, who shares Vivianne, 5, Eric, 3, and Forrest, 12 months, with his wife, Jessie James Decker, encouraged other dads to let their little ones cry it out. “For us, we were hyperactive when the [first two] kids were crying,” he told Us. “With our third child, Forrest, we turn the monitor off and we’re like, ‘All right, when we hear him we’ll run up, otherwise he’s fine.’ Crying doesn’t hurt him.”
When it comes to putting on a united front, the athlete believes wholeheartedly in saying no to his children whenever his wife, 30, does.
“The biggest thing as parents is, you gotta stick together,” the Minnesota native told Us. “Because you can’t start having the battle between the parents of, ‘Well, Mommy said yes,’ or, ‘Daddy said yes.’ You gotta be consistent in your message.”
Eric and Jessie keep things consistent in the bedroom as well, even when the kids are home, but “you gotta be smart about how you set it up,” he warned.
Especially since the former New England Patriots player and his wife let their kids sleep with them sometimes. “We try to put them in their own rooms, and they’ll sneak down in the middle of the night,” he told Us. “We fight that urge too, but it’s, like, they’re only little for so long, so we want to enjoy it.”
Watch the video above to hear Eric talk about his parenthood dos and don’ts — including his thoughts on using electronics and wearing matching outfits.
With reporting by Christina Garibaldi
