After being criticized for her strange reaction to disciplining her child, Serena Williams is sharing another parenting method that she admits might be ‘extreme.’
Williams, the tennis icon, has been growing her personal brand and her business portfolio since stepping off the court for the final time in 2022.
She’s also spent plenty of time with her two daughters, including her eldest, Olympia.
On a recent episode of the ‘IMO’ podcast – co-hosted by former First Lady Michelle Obama and her brother, Craig Robinson – Williams admitted to her hesitation to ever let Olympia out of her sight for long.
‘I really try to be a present parent,’ the women’s tennis legend told the two hosts.
‘And sometimes that’s hard, especially with the lives that we live; it’s very hard to be present, but I try to be extremely present.’
Serena Williams admitted that she doesn’t like to leave her kids for more than 24 hours
She said she didn’t leave eldest daughter, Olympia, alone for that long until she was 6
Williams says that she spends plenty of time around her girls becuase ‘I feel they need me.’
So present, in fact, that the 23-time Grand Slam winner made it a point to never go a full day without seeing her daughter when Olympia was in her early years.
‘I’m never gone more than 24 hours, ever,’ she added. ‘I didn’t leave Olympia until she was 6 for 24 hours.’
Williams admitted, ‘That may have been a little extreme, but that’s who I am.’Â
The tennis star shares a pair of daughters with her husband, tech entrepreneur Alexis Ohanian. In addition to Olympia, now 8, she has her youngest Adira, 2.
Considering her lifestyle calls on her to travel frequently, it’s impressive that Williams is able to stay nearby her children.
‘I show up as much as I can every single day for the girls,’ she said. ‘Because I feel like they mean the most to me, and I feel they need me, and they need to make sure, I wanna raise my children. I’m a person that’s raising my kids, and that’s teaching them how I want them to live and how I want them to be,’ she said on the show.
Last month, Williams was mocked for her reaction when she punished Olympia by not allowing her to go to a sleepover after the young one refused to go to sleep.
Williams posted, ‘She cried. But what she did not know is I cried harder. I hate when she cries. Discipline sucks. But sometimes it’s important.’Â
