For Clay Aiken, parenting is one space in life he finds safe.
While the American Idol alum has been in the public eye since more than two decades, he’s largely kept his family life with son 16-year-old Parker Aiken, whom he shares with his friend Jaymes Foster, out of the spotlight. However, he recently shed some light on his parenting style.
“I'm just tough in general,” the season two finalist told E! News in an exclusive interview. “I find that I appreciate criticism. I appreciate people pointing out things that I can do better.”
That said, Aiken is proud of how he was able to give Parker a sense of normalcy.
“We did a very good job, I think, for 16 years, keeping him completely out of the public eye, the “Invisible” singer said. “I wanted him to be able to grow up as normally as he could.”
The family made one allowance, letting Parker join in on Celebrity Family Feud in August.
“That was his first time,” Aiken said of his son’s appearance. “I appreciate that he's been able to have a normal—or as close to a normal—childhood, as he could.”
But, as for whether Parker will follow in his dad’s footsteps? The 45-year-old doesn’t see that happening.
“He’s had too much music in his life,” Aiken quipped, pointing to Parker’s uncle, the legendary producer David Foster—and also Jaymes’ brother—and his aunt Katharine McPhee’s musical backgrounds. “He knows what he wants to do. He's going to go a very different way.”
He added, “I'm proud of him. I'm thrilled for him. He can sing, though, he just doesn't want to.”
As for Aiken, he is returning to music with his first holiday album in more than a decade, Christmas Bells Are Ringing. And Parker growing up was partially responsible for this new project.
“Now was the right time to get back into music in general and sing,” he explained. “I had taken time away to both be a dad—you know, my kid was growing up, and I didn't want to be away.”
As for the Aiken family’s holiday traditions, the Idol alum noted that his family is just like any other amid the Christmas season.
“I think our tradition is probably not that different than most families in that it's just really about the time of year where you get together,” he shared. “Sometimes it's the only time of the year you see certain cousins, right? It’s the one time that you know that you can get everybody together and have that safety and familiarity.”
Christmas Bells Are Ringing is available Nov. 22.