As a dad of seven, Robert De Niro has decades of parenting experience under his belt. During a recent interview with Entertainment Tonight, the 81-year-old actor shared his most important piece of parenting advice: Support your kids no matter what, and make sure they actually feel supported.
“The main thing is to support your kids,” he told Entertainment Tonight. “As long as they’re not hurting themselves, doing anything destructive or anything like that, you have to support them. Even if you don’t go with it or think that they are going at it, whatever it is, you have to support them. And they have to know that you support them. Always.”
Robert did exactly this when his 29-year-old daughter Airyn came out as trans in April 2025. In a statement shared with Variety, Robert expressed love and support for his daughter. “I loved and supported Aaron as my son, and now I love and support Airyn as my daughter. I don’t know what the big deal is,” he said in the statement. “I love all my children.”
Robert’s youngest child, whom he welcomed with Tiffany Chen, 45, is only 2 years old. Spending time with 2-year-old Gia has been “wonderful,” Robert told Entertainment Tonight. “She’s just pure joy,” he said. “She’s 2 now, so as they get older and older then… you know? But it’s always wonderful. Pure joy, what can I say?”
Although he has lots of experience, he previously admitted to The Guardian that parenting never gets “easier.” At the same time, he admittedly isn’t doing the “heavy lifting” this time around. Tiffany is the one who “does the work.”
During a January 2025 interview with The Sunday Times, Robert revealed that he wasn’t the one changing his daughter’s diapers at the time. As a parent, he tries his best. “I spend my mornings watching Ms. Rachel with her, and I give her her bottle,” he told the publication at the time.
