From Hollywood to Home: Black Voices in Entertainment
- Vanessa and JoJo refuse sleepovers, keeping overnight visits strictly within family for safety and control.
- JoJo worries about unknown households and potential hazards, bluntly noting some homes may even have guns.
- Vanessa reluctantly let daughter Ava attend a sleepaway camp with an AirTag; the uncomfortable four days fostered trust and independence.
Vanessa Simmons and JoJo Simmons are opening up about how their parenting styles differ from that of their parents.
During a recent episode of their podcast For Good, which Vanessa now co-hosts with her brother, the siblings reflected on growing up with more freedom and why they take a more cautious approach with their own children.
“Our parents weren’t really looking for us all day,” Jojo said. “Now it’s like, ‘I’m not letting Mia do that. Walk to the corner store? Are you crazy? She might not come back.’”
Vanessa added, “I didn’t let Ava go to the Starbucks with her friends. That was literally maybe five minutes.”
“We used to be at the mall with our friends at 10, 11. Drop us off,” Jojo recalled.
Even with that perspective, Vanessa said certain boundaries are non-negotiable in her household.
“I don’t even let my daughter do sleepovers. Like it’s just… Just family sleepovers. That’s it,” she said.
JoJo agreed, making his stance clear as well.
“We’re not doing sleepovers ever,” he said.
Jojo explained that her hesitation comes down to not knowing what goes on in other homes.
“No offense to any other parent or anything out here, but I just don’t know y’all like that. You may seem cool, but I don’t know how you run your household,” he said. “Some people be having guns in their house.”
Still, Vanessa acknowledged that there are moments where she has had to push herself to let Ava experience independence, including a recent sleepaway camp.
“I was praying. I had an AirTag on her. They were like, ‘No cell phones.’ I’m like, this is crazy,” Vanessa said. “It was so uncomfortable for the whole four days that she was away. But that situation also helped me to let go a little bit… but I’m still not letting go.”
Despite their concerns, both Vanessa and JoJo recognized the role independence can play in a child’s development.
“That creates character,” Jojo said. “We were able to be outside a little bit more. I think it created a lot of character, in my opinion.”
The conversation ended on a reflective note, with Vanessa sharing how becoming a parent has changed the way she thinks about her own parents.
“Parenting is really not easy. Now, I really have such a deeper level of respect for, you know, our parents now that we’re adults and we’re parents ourselves. Like, you can look and be like, “Wow, this is not easy.” And to have so many kids, I got one,” she said.
Vanessa is mom to one daughter, Ava, whom she shares with partner Mike Wayans, while JoJo shares two children, daughter Mia and son Joey, with his wife Tanice Amira.
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