Dwyane Wade Shares Heartfelt Advice on Navigating Parenthood

Dwyane Wade's parenting tips are nothing but net.

As the NBA champ—who shares kids Zaire, 20, and Zaya, 15 with ex-wife Siohvaughn Funches; son Xavier, 9, with Aja Metoyer; and is also dad to Kaavia, 4, whose mom is wife Gabrielle Union—noted, being a parent is quite the unique role.

"We all know that being a parent is hard," Dwyane told E!'s Laverne Cox at the 2022 People Choice's Awards on Dec. 6. "I mean being a human in this world is hard. That's just starting as just that—that's not even putting Black complexion to it."

As the 40-year-old, whose been vocal about his support for his daughter Zaya (who came out as transgender in 2020) explained, life can hard enough on its own but is made that much better by support—which isn't limited to just one way.

"To be a parent, I think we all have our own ways," he added. "It's not just one way. I know in the community that we come from, the Black community, especially as a Black man growing up, a lot of things was perceived as weak for us, and I understood it."

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But as Dwyane shared, he was able to take his experience as an adolescent and use it to move forward with his children differently.

"I think a lot of people have to let a lot of the things that we were taught and we learned at an early age—kind of let it go and then allow life to show you, allow life to help you grow," he said. "Allow your experiences to let you see different. And sit back and enjoy the show, man."

Added Dwayne, "Watching your kids grow up is an amazing thing. Try not to get in the way, but make sure you're there enough to help them reach their potential."