Jada Pinkett explains why she encourages her children's showbiz aspirations...

From The Daily Mail

Now it isn’t as if the Smiths — who earned £20 million between them last year alone —are short of a bob or two. So why put their children in the spotlight? 

‘That’s the thing that’s difficult for people to understand,’ Jada says. ‘This isn’t about fame or money. They were still going to have their trials because of who their parents are. As much as I wish I could figure out a way I could protect my children, they have their destiny. I’m not going to put brakes on that out of fear.’

‘Our children are allowed to stay in the paradigm of being a child,’ Jada says. ‘They don’t have to take care of their families: become the breadwinners, become the complete emotional, physical and financial focus that happens to many child stars.

‘Our family structure is a little different and it’s quite hard to comprehend because it’s so outside what usually happens in a family, but the paradigm is the same.

‘You have Mother. You have Father. Father is protective. Mother is the teacher. Most of the time with child stars, the child has all the responsibilities and the mother and father don’t understand what’s actually happening to them, so the child can trust no one.

‘They feel: “I have to do this all by myself.” And start to connect to people around them who might not be that trustworthy. But with us, the paradigm stays the same because the child can still be the child with an extraordinary gift.

‘It is something to manage. I will not overlook that. I have a ten-year-old who can stand up in front of an audience of 17,000 and rock the house. I have to keep her grounded.’