DWYANE WADE: “ALL CHILDREN NEED THEIR FATHERS”
Miami Heat player Dwyane Wade writes about his “painful, public divorce” and how he became “the full-time parent to my two young sons, Zaire and Zion.”
Bad memories vanish each morning when I walk into both of my sons’ bedrooms to wake them up for school—their laughter gives me all I need to face whatever is happening in my life. Not too long ago, due to custody issues, I wasn’t allowed to see my sons for long periods of time, or was given the chance to see them for only a few hours with no idea if or when I’d see them again. I can’t describe how trying those days were, fighting for full custody while also working as a professional basketball player nine months of the year. I just knew I wanted to be with my kids.
I was seriously motivated to be a full-time parent for my sons. My mother and father weren’t together when I was a kid growing up in Chicago, and early on my mother fell victim to drug abuse. At 9 years old, I moved in with my father because my mother could no longer care for me. Looking back, I now see so many similarities between my own childhood and that of my sons. My father stepped in when I needed him, and that gave me the chance for a better life. That’s what I’m doing for my boys now.
All children need their fathers, but boys especially need fathers to teach them how to be men.
I remember wanting that so badly before I went to live with my dad. I wanted someone to teach me how to tie a tie and walk the walk, things only a man can teach a boy. Of course, back then, I never could have imagined being in the same situation someday with my own kids. My dad and I bumped heads a lot—we were so alike, both of us born competitors. My older son, Zaire, is exactly the same way. We’ll battle on the court when I’m 39 and he’s 19. He’s 9 now, and he’s grown up with basketball. Zion could take it or leave it, which is cool by me Read More.
47 Comments to “DWYANE WADE: “ALL CHILDREN NEED THEIR FATHERS””
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ALL BOYS and ALL GIRLS need their mothers AND their fathers!
Bump a NBC Championship, he got it all….Stay strong DWADE!!!!
[...] a single parent in an essay called “My Life As An NBA Superstar Single Dad”. Click here to read [...]
Handsome father and son
Gorgeous father and son!
all well and good you have full custody, but remember what it was like when you didnt have a mother in your life and the reason why you didnt, dont do it to those boys, hope you let them see their mother, remember you cannot replace a mother or a father. good luck taking care of them.
Just to point out.
Dwyane claims he could see his kids for long periods of time but lets be honest here..when your chasing Gabbys fast ass around town and playing basketball and clubbing for 90% of the year, when do you expect to find time for your kids?
You mean you didn’t have the patience to see them on the mother schedule but instead wanted them sitting at home waiting for you to be a parent when you wanted too.
Gotcha.
*couldn’t
exactly every time i seen pics of dwade out and about while he was married he was with his mistress gabby union. reason why swade took her 2 sons and moved back to chicago. he was too busy running behind gabby.
I wonder if she will have to pay him c/s now?
Oh man I was waiting for them to put him up here.I really don’t like him anymore.He used his wealth to take those kids from their mom just because he didn’t like her getting his money.I think that was so wrong and I feel sorry for her because there was no true evidence that she was a bad mom,yet he still got custody because he’s rich an famous.ANd now while Dwayne wayne is on the road for basketball they will be at his house with nannies when they could and probably would much rather be with their mom.
Sounds like you followed the gossip more so than the actual custody trial! Regardless of Dwayne’s true intentions (which we don’t know), she lost custody of her children because she acted like a fool! She has no one to blame but herself.
So true PlainMean. One of the things she was doing was interferring with Dwayne’s visitations. She messed up so badly, she allowed Dwayne to document all of them & use them against her.
Now Dwayne may have been shady on how he got the boys, (I don’t know, I’m not there), but the fact that she gave him an opening is on her shoulders. But 9 attorneys quit? Do you know how hard it is to do that?
I agree with Pam.
There was no evidence that she was a bad mother. The courts never once said she was a bad mother.
She basically lost her kids because she didn’t do what Dwyane wanted her to do .
I could care less what others say but men with money get away with a lot of things. We see it in scandals and etc.
I’ve said this once and I’ll say it again, Dwyane wants to have his cake and eat it too.
You sound as though you’re bitter about something that may have happened in your personal life. It’s not that she didn’t behave the way Dwayne wanted her too. She didn’t behave like a reasonable, mature, adult or mother with the best interests of her children. She went through lawyers like crazy, act a fool in court, missed court dates, and refused this man the right to see his children during his scheduled time. You don’t have a RIGHT to have your children just because you’re mom. The children have a RIGHT to be with the best fit parent who will also allow the other to be in the children’s lives.
Furthermore, you don’t have to like your ex. Even if he does you wrong as his wife or girlfriend, it shouldn’t affect his relationship with his children. You don’t get to hold kids hostage because he broke your heart!
Bookworm, that’s not how the courts operate. Dwayne Wade wasnt serving as the judge, it was the judge(who was privy to ALL of the information) who made the decision. Even when celebrities are involved, it’s rare for a court to rule the father as the better suited parent. Add that to the fact that Siovaughn didnt even get PARTIAL custody, and well, that should tell you something.
My father was a single father, it’s a difficult job for all parents, single and married! I wish those boys all the love and happiness in the world.
Lets see, frivolous lawsuits, false acusations, failed appearances, capias to go to court and if you don’t know what that means the Police, PoPo, Marshal, Sheriff, ect comes picks you up takes you into custody and escortes you to court. Well I guess not showing up for visitations with there father, taking the kids when they are suppose to be with there father. I think that would be enough to say bad decisions, in regards to her kids. The JUDGE even said, He don’t believe she is capable of fostering a healthy relationship between her children and there father, and that is why he was granted sole custody of the kids. If he was going to go through all of those court appearances is wasn’t about not wanting to pay child support or alimony, he was being deprived of the right to have a healthy relationship with his kids.
exactly it was never proven that she was a bad mother.
i believe his celebrity and money played a part in him getting sole custody.
if anything it should of been joint custody.
someone was paid off.
I HATE Dwayne Wade..I just can’t stand cocky and arrogant men! Much like him and Kobe..nothing against their ability to play ball(bc they can) its just I strongly dislike Wade and Kobe bc they are SO arrogant and cocky that it is a HUGE turn off for me. I personally like men like Derrick Rose who are cute,talented, have a career but are humble.
I believe that kids, whether boy or girl, can benefit from having both a mother and father in their life. If both parents are present (whether in the same household or not) the kids can equally & positively be impacted and learn from both parents…it’s called “balance”. Sometimes there might be “circumstances” that tilt the “scales”, such as in Dwayne Wade’s case, but hopefully whatver the situation is, the children remain happy : )
All children girls and boys need two loving parents that truly care.I pray that Dwayne Wade remembers this when dealing with his children’s mother and is not just giving lip service to good parenting.
Just looking at the photo, without being privy to the back story, this father/son picture looks like a candidate for BCK’s annual Father of the Year pick.
Beautiful father/son moment captured. So well groomed on the outside they appear.
No he shouldn’t.Good fathers don’t try to take full custody from the mothers just because they don’t like them anymore.
@Pam I can’t agree with that I don’t think he took his kids because he didn’t like their mother anymore. She is crazy missing court dates and dogging him in public I said it before they need both parents but as of right now he is the most stable one for them
@pam just don’t post stuff read the back story at least a little bit. It wasn’t about oh I want the kids because they are boys, no this women did what ever she could to cause harm to his relationship with his kids. She failed to appear in court, show up for his visitations, ect. This women even went so far as to file a lawsuit against another women in the name of her kids becausee she could. She hasn’t made any kind of decision in the best interest of her kids at all. When the judge is issuing capias for you that means you are not handling your responsibilities correctly. I work in legal field, and she clearly left a sour tast in the judges mouth during this divorce, to the point he ruled for divorce without her being there.
Regardless of what went down or how she felt she was treated, Siohvaughn Funches needed to look at the end game: How her children were going to feel looking back at their parents’ split and their custody arrangements. All she had to do was keep on the straight and narrow, stay out of the press, and work with her (myriad) attorneys. Instead, she went buck wild and lost her kids. (Seriously: An attorney [I am one] does not want to quit a client; it is not an easy thing to do, anyway. The fact that she had *9 attorneys quit* representing her should clue you in to the fact that she was off her doggone rocker and “difficult” to say the least.)
@ PlainMean: Busting out someone’s windows might well have cost you your kids.
Children don’t need “both parents” – they need stable parents of either gender who love them. Period, point blank, the end.
It was a joke! A “HAHA”. But in the years I spent working with DCF, I have never seen or heard of anyone losing custody of their children for “busting car windows”.
Shaq, Martin Lawrence, Bernie Mac, Mario, Kanye West, Drake, Maxwell, Malcom X, and the one and only Barack Obama are all BLACK men who were raised by their MOTHERS. It is actually insulting to the woman in this world who have raised boys by theirself so say that all boys need their fathers. When that arguement is NOT valid. It is that way of thinking in woman that has caused them to bring men into their childs life that are perverts etc. I’m in the military their are so many men who have faught for our country that were raised by their mothers. And you down grade them by saying it couldn’t be done without the father. Get real. Deal with the situation that God has put you in to the best of your ability. YOu need to teach your son how to use the restroom correctly or tie a tie then learn how to do it and stop making excuses.
Thanks for this comment. I’m a single mom by choice and I battle every day with raising my son. It is such a blessing to point to our President as the example of a boy raised by a woman. All the negative single woman get for not being able to raise a boy I’m so sick of it. Would I have loved to have a father for my son and partner? Certainly, but that wasn’t to be. Sometimes you gotta change the ending of the fairytale story to reach your happy.
Where’s my post, BCK? Now if I re-post it then that’s when y’all will post the original! Smh.
Omg, let’s stop it. Why is it an insult or threat to say that boys need strong male models in their lives? That’s not in anyway a diss to ANY single mom raising a son! Some of the men in your examples went through hell to find themselves as men, especially Malcolm X who messed with drugs and served time behind bars! Barack had his grandfather and a stepdad, so he was not exactly raised by single mom. A woman can do her best, but she cannot teach a boy to be a man! Any boy that grows up without his father is at a disadvantage, and we should encourage more positive, involved, black fathers instead of giving this stink we don’t need you attitude!
Thank you, he wasn’t saying that women are incapable, but it is a disadvantage. I live with my sister who has three boys and one girl. I don’t have any kids of my own but I have live with her and these kids all there lives and we yes I said we struggle to raise these young men. Our attitude is lead by example, but we are women we can’t show them how to be something we are not and that is a Man. They all have great godfathers thank you lord that when they get out of hand will step in and support the boundries that has been in place for them, but it would be better if my sister would be able to pick up the phone and call there father.
Something deeper has to be going on with his ex than just being a “woman scorned”! Hell, I’ve been a woman scorned and I might bust your windows, but I wouldn’t allow it to cost me my children! Children need both parents, but it is especially important for boys to have a strong positive man in their life! I hope that everything worked out for the best interest of the kids.
@PlainMean I agree with u nothing is more important than my babies! I’m glad they have their father but I agree that they need both parents. I hope one day they can become cordial and share those beautiful babies.
I believe she had no choice, he has the money and the best lawyers. She is still fighting for them
Might I also add that I Love little Zaire’s complexion. So dark smooth and chocolaty and he’s such a beautiful boy.
I love D. Wade it’s a great thing to hear a young man take so much pride in being a father. Love it.
Just to add on..
Dwyane said all children need their fathers but he forgot to add that no child should have ONE parent at the expense of the other.
I agree but they need their mothers just as much.I hate this “boys need dads and girls need moms” junk when raising kids.
Kids need both parents. Not one or the other depending on gender.
Curious what his response would be if it was girls.
Full time does not include a nanny, aunt and grandmother living within the household.BTW, Dwyane moms was a drug addict. Their mother is a scorned woman. Two different things.
Thank you!!! Omg I always say that!!!
They need each parent equally. I cannot stand the separation.
I co-sign this comment.
you took this entire comment out of my head! i have always thought it was horrible that they were taken from their primary parent and the only city they had ever known. i still feel SO bad for their mother; I would be DEVASTATED. i hope he really means it when he says he wants them to have a healthy relationship with her.
a father will teach them how to be men, but their mom teaches them how to RELATE to women. people are quick to talk about girls with “daddy issues” but there are a lot of dudes walking around with “mommy issues”. just saying.
Well my response to your comment is yes I agree both parents need to be a part of their kids life be it a boy or a girl. I will also say about the part of your comment that say them being ripped away from the primary parent and the only surroundings they have ever known is untrue. They did live in Miami, and look at some of the issue that went on in that divorce it is more that just him pulling the kids away from there mother, he was put in the situation to fight for his rights to his kids by their mother. This women didn’t show up to court dates to the point the judge held her in contempt, the days his kids were suppose to be with him she pulled disappearing acts. The court records reflect her bad decisions towards this man and his relationship with his kids. Hey when the judge rules and during his ruling he states that he hopes the mother gets some help, because he don’t believe that she is capable to foster a positive relationship between the kids and there father.
Co-SIGN!!!!! They need their mother too…. she’s hurt and angry and once she’s healed she will be a great mother. I’m rooting for her. Let go of the pain, and take charge of your life…..only God can take the pain away.
Imma have to root for the Heat. Darn! Easy thou, as my Lakers got sent home. Team Wade (not LeBron thou..he’s got a ways to grow-up and go to be forgiven for that ridiculous Decision…very low class indeed)! Cute kids.
It’s a beautiful thing when men step up to be a positive role model in their children’s lives. Keep it up Mr. Wade!
That’s great Dwayne! Continue being a role model for your kids and a wonderful father!