Brad Pitt Opens Up About His 'Real Fear' For His Family

Limelight

Despite his late start into the world of parenthood, Brad Pitt never doubted he would one day be a father. First on the actor’s agenda, however, was to experience life on his own. “When I go down a path, I take it to the end. Then I take another one,” he tells PARADE. “I took the path of not having kids — now it’s time for family.” While children were not something he was initially seeking, Brad has now happily settled into the routine.

“Children are a dominant value in my life now, and they weren’t before. They were always something I thought I’d get around to having when the time was right. In a way, I think I had to go and exhaust me before I could be good at being a parent.”

Although thrilled to be a father, the addition of a family has not come without a price. When partner Angelina Jolie‘s mother passed away in 2007, Brad was suddenly faced with the reality of losing a loved one. “You have to recognize real love when it’s there and know that in going after it, there is always a risk,” he notes. “To live with love, you have to chance losing it. That’s also true when you decide to have kids.”

To that end, as each year passes, Brad finds himself appreciating quality time spent together as a family more and more. “As I’ve gotten older, I’ve become aware that time is fleeting. I don’t want to waste whatever I have left,” he muses.

“My real fear at this point is the safety and health of Angie and the kids. The fear of losing them is what keeps me up at night.”

That said, Brad believes he wasn’t past his prime to start a family. “I don’t think I was all that late in becoming a father,” he says. The proud papa laughs that he still has a few tricks up his sleeve and is always on hand to comfort his children. “Man, you just have to stay alert in case one of them has a problem, and then you need to find things to calm them down,” he explains.

“I’ve discovered that classical music works as a great pacifier.”

While Brad and Angelina are far off from having a quiet household, the couple wouldn’t change their happy chaos for the world. “This family is full of life!” he gushes. “There are laughs, aggravations, irritations, but at the end of the day, it’s fun.” For the father of six, he says he is exactly where he wants to be. “I think this is the pinnacle. Even as I’m bound to this thing, in a way I’m freer than I’ve ever been.”

Brad and Angie are parents to Maddox Chivan, 8, Pax Thien, 5 ½, Zahara Marley, 4 ½, Shiloh Nouvel, 3, and 1-year-old fraternal twins Knox Léon and Vivienne Marcheline.

Source: PARADE

– Anya

Comments

So happy for them…they seem to be great parents.

- QueenB on August 13th, 2009

He’s a blessed man!

- 12 Weeks Pregnant on August 13th, 2009

Classical music, huh? I love hearing him talk about his kids.

-meream

- All Women Stalker on August 13th, 2009

Oh, how I heart this man! I’m so happy for Brad & Angie & admire how they’ve prioritze their family unit.

- Alecia on August 13th, 2009

Brad Pitt seems like an awesome dad. It probably is really stressful to have six kids and Angie and Brad seem to really enjoy all six of them. Most guys and sometimes even girls don’t plan on being parents but they usually change their minds down the road.

- Kristin on August 13th, 2009

I don’t know, there is something about Brad’s interviews that ring so fake to me, like he knows people want to know about the kids so he uses them as props to promote a movie. I’m not a fan of either of them but @ least Angelina sounds like she genuinnely enjoys her children as opposed to “profound sound bite” one right after another. Maybe it’s just me but it just seems like he wants everyone to go “awwww”.

- Mary-Helen on August 13th, 2009

Oh brother. If Brad was using his kids as props, he’d be telling stories about what Shiloh did the other day or how Maddox is doing in school. He actually doesn’t speak about the kids unless it’s very generally, about how he feels about being a father, and this article is long but that’s because it’s filler – the actual article is really long and he only talks very briefly about being a dad.

People will always hear what they want to hear and project how they view someone onto that person no matter what they do. It’s so sad.

- Ryo on August 13th, 2009

@ 6. Mary Helen, I was thinking the same…

- sil on August 13th, 2009

Predictable, it’s always the same people who show up to nitpick. It’s like there’s a whole set of different rules for Brad and Angie. EVERY celeb with kids talks about them while promoting a movie but it’s Brad Pitt who gets accused of using his kids as props. Gimme a break! And yes Mary-Helen we all know you’re not a fan of either of them. This fact is hard to miss when you quickly show up in their threads to tell us how smug they are, how they only favor their oldest child, and now how Brad uses his children as props to promote a movie. Like I said, predictable.

To me the man seems happy and enjoys giving and getting a lot of love from his family. We all should be so fortunate.

- Celia on August 13th, 2009

I don’t think Brad seems fake at all. I think its obvious that he and Angelina are genuinely happy and in love and genuinely love each and every one of their kids. They make such a beautiful family and both seem like wonderful parents.

- Elizabeth on August 13th, 2009

Brad sounds very happy with his babies!

- kayleesmom on August 13th, 2009

LMAO Mary helen & Sil show up to complain. Surprise surprise. Anyhoo I’m glad Brad & Angelina found each other.

- surprise surprise on August 13th, 2009

I think Brad genuinely loves and adores his family and is appears to be a thoughtful and doting father. He and Angelina sound exactly the same when speaking about them and they both only speak about them when giving interviews, which usually come about because of films, which is theier job.

Playing classical music sounds so very cool as I just love it and it is a good way to introduce them to culture without them knowing. So very cool.

- Jamie on August 13th, 2009

Each passing year as my children get older new worries crop up. At first its when they are newborns, are they cold, is it an ear infection, oh no they just took their first walk and took a huge tumble. Then its 1st day at school are they making friends. Are they treating others nice. Do they understand what they are learning. Their first sleep over. Letting them cross the street by themselves. To their first crush their first kiss their first heartbreak. Letting them drive with friends and having them learn to drive and drive off all by themselves. To their high school graduation. And then college and on their own. Every milestone seems to bring new angst with happiness and little sadness. My mother said “once a mother always a mother as your children grow older you still worry just different worries” I wish she were alive today so I could tell her NOW I understand!
I love summer and get incredible sad when school starts I love my family being together through happy times and even during those days when I joke with my husband let’s sell them to the gypsy’s. I teach my children manners ‘how to thing’s’ and in return they all end up teaching me a thing or too! Classical music worked great for us too. But then so did my humming.
My husband and I are parents to 4 children. Almost 17, 14, 8, and just turned 5 two weeks ago. So our house is NEVER quite unless you count them sleeping.

- mary on August 13th, 2009

Doesn’t sound fake to me, he clearly is a doting papa. Good for them all.

- gaia's mom on August 13th, 2009

Brad seems like a wonderful dad!

- Angelique on August 13th, 2009

Mary-Helen,
Obviously you have issues with Mr.Pitt in general because he has said nothing wrong in this interview. Like someone else mentioned, if he was really trying to use the kids to get attention (which in case you didn’t already know, Brad can get attention all by himself. He’s been doing it for years, before and after fatherhood) he would be mentioning Shiloh, Zahara, etc. Especially the Twins. If you think he’s using them, then why have we only ever seen two pictures of the twins? Step down from your high horse and give this proud papa some credit for being a good father, and being so involved. Not many are now adays

- Micheley on August 13th, 2009

LMAO @ Mary-Helen…are you serious..!? Obviously you have some issues with the two of them that stems a lot further…get that worked out..its not that serious! Nonetheless, I think they adore their children and are wonderful parents!!

- Daisy on August 13th, 2009

If you like at previous Jolie- Pitt posts Mary Helen always has somthing negative to see about these parents. She claimed that they favored Maddox over the bio kids on a recent post despite the fact they are rarely photographed compared to most celeb kids featured on this site. When I see her name I generally skip to the next comment.

- cassie on August 13th, 2009

They have a beautiful big family! I love Brad and Angelina, they’re my parenting idols. I love how they don’t say parenting is hard but it’s a joy. They seem like amazing parents.

- Eleanor on August 13th, 2009

I’m not really a fan of Brad Pitt, but I think his comments are more an attempt to not divulge anything about his kids. They’re very generic about fatherhood in general, instead of giving any real info about his kids. I have to respect him for not taking the bait, and protecting his kids’ privacy.

- Sadie on August 13th, 2009

I am always happy to hear how happy Brad Pitt + Angelina Jolie are together + has parents. I have been a Brad Pitt fan for a long time now + he has been ready to settle down/have kids since the mid-90′s + finally 10 years later he has a big happy family + you can tell he has never been happier. I think Brad Pitt + Angelina Jolie are perfect for each other, obviously have amazing chemistry + the same priorities. It’s hard to believe they didn’t find each other sooner.

I also recommended reading the whole interview, he talks about a lot of important topics + the topic of family/kids is only a small blurb.

P.S In another interview, Angelina Jolie said the twins, Knox + Viv, are walking!!

- Mia on August 13th, 2009

Well, I hope the twins are walking. They’re 13 months old!! They should have been walking for the past couple of months.

I love the Parade interview with Brad. If you read it carefully you will see that he is only talking about his family in a general way, not individually. As someone else mentioned, if he wanted to use his kids as props we would have seen far more photos of them in the past couple of months than we have seen. I mean, he could take the twins out to that Coldwater park where all those minor stars take their kids and the paps would get enough pics to fill a dozen ragmags for a month!!!

I think Brad is truly happy with Angelina and his kids. He doesn’t sound the least bit “phony” to me. But, I suppose if you dislike a person, anything they say would make your blood cold and you would think he was being phony. My suggestion, Mary Helen, is that you give up reading any of Brad’s interviews since you hate him so much. Why torture yourself!!!

- mslewis on August 13th, 2009

People magazine said they were walking over a month ago, do twins start walking later in general?

- cassie on August 13th, 2009

Well, I personally don’t care for either Brad or Angie, and especially don’t like the way they came together as a couple while Brad was still married. However, I must give credit where it is due and, regardless of how it came about, he and Angie seem like wonderful, doting parents. Good for them!

- Angel on August 13th, 2009

MsLewis, I have a 14 and a half month old daughter who is not yet walking entirely on her own.My son didn’t walk until he was 15 and 1/2 months. My other daughter walked at 9 1/2 months. Are you implying that there is something wrong with 2 of my kids? B/c I’ll tell you, both their DOCTOR and the school district educator who has a degree in early childhood think there’s no reason to be concerned at all until they reach 18 months old. Do you not have children or something? They don’t all do everything on a certain schedule.

- Shannon on August 13th, 2009

Ms Lewis…
it’s perfectly normal for babies up to 18 months to be starting to walk. It’s considered ‘average’ for a baby to walk by the first year, meaning about 50% do… not the vast majority.
Besides, a late walker doesn’t mean anything… I’ve had friends whose children didn’t walk until later (like 16 – 18 months) and by 2 years old, you’d never know the difference.

- Mrs. R. on August 13th, 2009

Erica, what events have they been at exactly? Because you obviously don’t pay attention. The only time we’ve even seen them before this week – when Brad was PROMOTING HIS MOVIE, which is his job – was when they were taking the kids out – Zahara & Shiloh to dance class and on a flight, Maddox & Pax to a concert, to NOLA, to Vegas. The pair of them haven’t been out alone, together or separately, in quite a long time going by pictures. And yeah, they’ve said they had nannies, what of it? They’ve always been very candid about that.

- Ryo on August 13th, 2009

For the ones questioning when the twins started walking, I think it depends on the child. My friend’s daughter is about 15 months now, and she isn’t walking. She’s quite content with standing up and crawling, but she doesn’t want to walk quite yet. And I have my little cousin who is about two months younger and she’s been walking for quite some time now.

It’s different with every baby.

Some start early, some later. All babies start on their own determined time.

Anyway, as for the interview, I thought it was great. I just love reading about a man who adores his family so much.

- FC on August 13th, 2009

Erica,Provide the link where they admitted they had 4 nannies please because Angie stated they had 2 nannies(parttime) in the July 2008 issue of Vanity Fair and Brad mentioned they got a baby nurse after the twins were born. I hope your source isn’t a tabloid

- cassie on August 13th, 2009

Aww I really like Brad. Erica, I don’t understand where you get the idea that Brad and Angie aren’t hands-on parents, have 4 nannies and are ALWAYS (nice emphasis, there) somewhere around the world without their kids. I don’t know them but going by the interviews (not tabloid sources) of friends, actors, directors, etc. who know and work with them Brad and Angie are extremely hands-on devoted parents. If I go by the pictures and videos, compliments of the often scuzzy paparazzi, one or both are RARELY without their children. If I go by the sightings (I live in Los Feliz near their Hollywood Hills home) they are RARELY without their kids and gasp! RARELY is there a nanny in sight. From everything I know and think I know they are darn good parents.

- Victoria on August 13th, 2009

It always cracks me up how people make all sorts of assumptions about celebrities based on a few pics from an hour or two of their daily lives. So, if you see pics of someone at a 2-3 hour premiere(their job, btw), then you can automatically see a crystal-ball rendition of the other 21-22 hours of their day?
That’s awesome logic!! LOL!!

- zeezee on August 13th, 2009

Erica, if you have been paying attention you would have noticed that almost always when Brad and Angie are ‘out on the town’ its only one of them while the other is home with the kids. Also they have said that while one is working the other one is not. Which is something many parents don’t do (does that make them bad? Absolutely not.) Just like many parents who travel for their work don’t bring their families along with them (obviously most don’t have that option) but the jolie-pitts do. I mean Tom Cruz was away from his daughter for a month, what are your thoughts on that?

- Micheley on August 14th, 2009

Victoria- You live in Los Feliz near there home? Have you seen the twins? If so, I’m jealouse!

Ryo- I agree! I also want to point out that Brad just took Maddox and Pax to NOLA a few days ago. There are pictures of them at a Greenday Concert (including an adorable one of a sleepy Pax snuggled up in Brad’s arms! And yes, both boys were clearly wearing ear protection! ) and checking out some of the newly-built houses of Brad’s Make It Right project.

Anyway, I love this interview, and it’s painfully obvious (not just by this interview, but by other ones and by pictures of Brad with his kids) that Brad LOVES being a father!

- CelebBabyLover on August 14th, 2009

I’m glad no one nitpick’s what I say. I do not have a talent for saying the right thing alot of the time. I come from a family of inarticulate, though intelligent, people. It would be so easy to read anything you want into stuff I blabber. How many of us can say exactly the right thing in an interview which will then be exactly correctly taken apart and put online?

- Mina on August 14th, 2009