Will Smith's Parenting Style: How 'The Fresh Prince' Shaped His 3 Kids Into Unique Individuals

Apart from his accomplishments in Hollywood, "The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air" star Will Smith is a father of three kids. Smith guides his children — Trey, 24, Jaden, 18 and Willow, 16 — with an unconventional parenting style and he's pretty proud and supportive of their uniqueness.

So, what can other parents learn from the actor's parenting style? What type of a dad is Will Smith?

The "Suicide Squad" actor is not the dad who punishes his children. Together with his wife of 20 years, Jada Pinkett Smith, the actor instead believes in teaching his kids to be responsible for their actions.

Smith said punishing kids connotes negativity and that's not what he wants for his children. "[We] give them as much control over their lives as possible," Smith said, as per E! News.

Smith recognizes his kids are artistic, especially Jaden. The young man used to receive criticisms for his gender-fluid style. He's not shy about infusing women's clothes in his wardrobe.

His father, however, admires and sees this as Jaden's expression of his fearless personality. Smith admitted Jaden's decisions sometimes scare him as a parent but he supports Jaden because he sees his conviction and determination.

"You know, there's a really powerful internal quality as an artist that as parents we encourage," Smith once said about Jaden's artistry, as per Huffington Post. He respects the fact that Jaden doesn't care about the criticisms.

Smith earned Hollywood's respect as a bankable movie star but he keeps it real with his children so they know the value of hard work. "I tell the kids all the time, 'Mommy and daddy are rich. Y'all are broke," Smith joked, according to Refinery29.

This parenting style seems to be paying off as Trey works as a DJ and Jaden has his own gender-fluid clothing brand aside from a promising movie career. Willow, while still in high school, also dabbles in acting and singing from time to time.