Tim McGraw and Faith Hill Make Parenting a Priority: ‘I Wouldn’t Change It for the World’
By Movieguide® Staff
Country artist Tim McGraw recently shared his perspective on being a father to three girls and how he and his wife, Faith Hill, put parenting ahead of their careers.
“When we first got married, we had a long talk about both of us doing this for a living — how are we going to navigate this? And we decided that we were going to put our family and our kids first,” McGraw told Garrett Hedlund in a conversation for Leo Magazine. “We were going to teach them that working hard and being professional and being on point and showing up, and doing what you needed to do to support the people around you, and being present with everybody you need to be present with, while being present with them at the same time, is doable. Teaching them to have a great work ethic but being human at the same time, and teaching them how to be a parent at the same time.”
McGraw said that they used the constant traveling and performing in their careers to help them teach their children, but they never let that get in the way of being present with their children.
“We tried our best to never be away from them. They were on the road with us, they flew with us. If we had to go to Europe, they went to Europe with us. Whenever we were working, they were with us most of the time,” McGraw said.
McGraw said that even as his daughters grew older, he and Hill made a point to stay involved in their lives.
“When they started school and when we were home, we didn’t talk about business. Their friends called us Mr. and Mrs. McGraw. They all knew us as Gracie’s dad, or Audrey’s dad, or Maggie’s dad,” McGraw explained. “We were at PTA meetings. We were at football games. We were at basketball games. I coached softball. I coached basketball. We were part of their life, their community growing up. We made a real effort for them to not just to be part of our lives, but for us to be part of their lives.”
Despite the couple’s success freeing them up for more time with their children, McGraw maintains that they still made an active decision to be in their children’s lives.
“We were in a good position that we could dictate when we would work,” McGraw said. “But you have to make that decision as well, and we made that decision early on.”
McGraw, the father to Gracie, 22, Maggie, 21, and Audrey, 19, offered friendly parenting advice to Hedlund—who recently became a new father to baby boy Rhodes with actress Emma Roberts.
However, McGraw admits that he does not have experience in parenting a boy.
“My daughters and my wife and having a house full of women — and being the kind of guy’s-guy that I am, up to doing the things I like to do — sometimes I think myself more macho than I am for sure. But they have made me such a better man,” McGraw said. “They made me see things in a different way. They taught me so much more about life, about how to be a man.”
McGraw concluded: “I wouldn’t change it for the world. I don’t know if I would be the same person without it. For better or for worse. … It’s a blessing. It really is. It has affected my art in a lot of ways as well. The music that I make, the movies that I make, the choices that I make. It’s made all those things more defined, more emotional.”
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Now more than ever we’re bombarded by darkness in media, movies, and TV. Movieguide® has fought back for almost 40 years, working within Hollywood to propel uplifting and positive content. We’re proud to say we’ve collaborated with some of the top industry players to influence and redeem entertainment for Jesus. Still, the most influential person in Hollywood is you. The viewer.
What you listen to, watch, and read has power. Movieguide® wants to give you the resources to empower the good and the beautiful. But we can’t do it alone. We need your support.
You can make a difference with as little as $7. It takes only a moment. If you can, consider supporting our ministry with a monthly gift. Thank you.
Movieguide® is a 501c3 and all donations are tax deductible.
