Why Kathy Lee Gifford Stopped Giving Her Children Advice
By Movieguide® Contributor
Kathy Lee Gifford explained why she stopped giving her kids unsolicted advice once they became adults.
“I am the kind of parent that the minute my kids were adults, I stopped giving them advice,” Gifford told Fox News Digital. “I raised them right. I raised them to know right from wrong. I raised them to know that God is their best friend. I raised them to trust the Lord in all things.”
“And so I said, ‘Whenever you guys want advice, if you really want it, I’d be happy to give it to you. But I’m not giving it unless you ask me.’ And I’ve stuck to that,” Gifford added.
Gifford shared two children – Cody and Cassidy – with her late husband, Frank. Both of her children followed her into the entertainment industry with her son cofounding the Gifford Media Group and her daughter going into acting, most recently starring on THE BAXTERS.
Though Gifford is no longer shepherding her kids like she did when they were younger, she still loves spending time with them and has embraced stepping into her role as a grandmother.
“They don’t need me anymore the same way,” Gifford said. “I want them to want me, of course, just for our friendship and the joy that we all share together with the babies and everything else. But no, I don’t give advice unless they ask it.”
Gifford has only been a grandmother for two years, but she has found immense joy during that time. She has not only found it gratifying to spend time with her grandkids but also to watch her kids step into parenting.
“Every moment is a gift,” she told TODAY shortly after her first grandson was born.
“There is nothing like it in the whole world. To see my children, first of all, so in love with their spouses. I’m so grateful to God for that. They picked wisely. They’re so in love and it makes me so happy,” Gifford said.
“Then to see them parenting the way they do, which is beyond. Cody’s wife was bedridden for like six months with their second baby and the love they showed each other and the love they had for this unborn child that they were just going to save no matter what happened.”
Movieguide® previously reported:
Kathie Lee Gifford is sharing some details about life as a grandmother and her latest project co-starring in THE BAXTERS alongside her daughter.
“‘Bubbe’ is my name,” Gifford said of what the grandkids call her. “It’s Yiddish.”
Her daughter Cassidy joked, “She’s the only one who can say it, though.”
“They all call me ‘Boobie,’” Gifford laughed. “Which is, I guess, fine.”
She explained her nickname further while appearing on the TODAY show shortly after the birth of her first grandchild.
“It means ‘dearest one,’ like ‘cherished one,’” she explained, adding that she thought it would be easier for little kids to say.
“A little kid only goes, ‘Buh, buh, buh, buh, buh,’ anyway. I think it’s going to be easy. Bubbie,” Gifford said.
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