Jason Donovan would rather his kids take drugs in front of him rather than elsewhere.
The 48-year-old star shares Jemma, 16, Zak, 15 and Molly, five, with his wife Angela Malloch and has been very open with his teenage kids about his own problems with cocaine addiction in the 1990s.
Although he would rather they didn’t take illegal substances if his children were curious about any high he would prefer it if they experimented in the safety of their own home rather than somewhere else.
In an appearance on ‘Loose Women’ on Tuesday (22.11.16), he said: "I had this conversation with Zak last night, I’m very open about these things, life happens and you got to educate your kids to make the right choices, but who knows what will happen in life. It’s a terrible thing to say, but I almost feel like if you’re going to do it then bring it home and do it, does that sound weird? If you want to do it then do it in front of me right now and I’ll keep an eye on you."
But the actor-and-singer – who has been clean from drugs for 16 years ever since his daughter Jemma was born – is adamant that despite his parenting theory he hopes his kids never want to try drugs.
He continued: "It’s a bit like alcohol in Europe, whether they’re allowed to drink it or not. I’m not saying I’m advocating drugs to kids any way shape or form … It’s a bit of reverse psychology. I think good parenting and tying to support your kids as they grow up is an important part of it."
Although he would have rather not have lived with a drug addiction, Jason – who first tried cocaine when he was 18 – is relieved that he got all of his wild behaviour out of the way when he was younger.
The ‘Too Many Broken Hearts’ hitmaker said: "I now know what I want to do with my life. I see people who as they get older, particularly approaching their 50s, panic and think, ‘I want to go out and enjoy myself.’ I did it the other way round. I think looking after yourself is important and you need a good balance, not this yo-yo dieting and all that stuff, a good balance in life."
Jason Donovan would let kids try drugs at home to educate them
