Being a child of a celebrity usually comes with the price of public exposure and living a life under the spotlight. Most times, these children are forced to live with the pressure of reaching their famous parents’ fame, and are expected to act and behave in a certain manner.
However, it looks like this isn’t always the case.
When it comes to singer Reba McEntire and her only son, Shelby, she has raised him not to be a spoiled brat. Instead, she did her best to implement in him the values she was taught by her parents and grand-parents who always taught her to be down-to-earth, as she indeed is besides the extent of her fame.
Reba knows she did a great job as a parent whenever someone tells her that her son is an incredibly humble man.
Being brought up in the countryside came with certain values for Reba who once told People, “Mama and Daddy always said to me, ‘If you tell somebody you’re going to be somewhere at a certain time, you show up. That’s the way I was raised.”
Shelby is no different than his mother. “I’m very proud of him. He was a kid who had ADHD and could barely read in school, and now he’s read 10 books this year. He’s always trying to improve and do better. His daddy did a great job too,” she shared with People.
“When we would play games or cards, I’d never let Shelby win,” the singer said. “He wouldn’t have learned anything that way. I always told Shelby, ‘I’ll always love you, but I want other people to like you. So don’t be a little jerk. Don’t be a spoiled brat.’”
Speaking of raising him, the Does He Love You hitmaker said that despite her hectic work schedule, she spent regular quality time with her son.
“I had the best nannies, and I took him on the road with me,” she said. “When I couldn’t, I would fly home after a concert, get him up in the morning, take him to school and pick him up. We’d play until I had to fly out again for a concert that night. I wanted to be with Shelby. Still do.”
Shelby, who is now 33 years old, is a professional race car driver. In 2022, he married his girlfriend Melissa.
Though Shelby is Reba’s only biological son, she also has five stepchildren. While married to her first husband, Charlie Battles, she became a stepmother to his two sons, Lance Battles and Coty Battles, with whom she remained very close even after her marriage ended. When she married music manager Narvel Blackstock in 1989, she became a stepmother to his children Shawna Blackstock, Brandon Blackstock, Kelly Clarkson’s ex-husband, and Chassidy Blackstock.
“I don’t consider Brandon, Chassidy and Shawna stepchildren,” she told The Boot in 2010. “I claim them all.”
One thing is certain. Besides being an incredible country singer, Reba is also an amazing mother.
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