Pic: Janet Jackson with Michael’s children, Paris, Blanket and Prince.
Amid all that’s said and written about Michael Jackson one thing isn’t in dispute: his love for his children.
Sure, he made them wear masks and veils and insisted they throw out their toys every night because he believed they spread germs but he also wanted the best for them.
He wanted them to grow up as normally as possible in a strange world and wanted to ensure they didn’t become obsessive about their looks, as he was. Prince Michael (12), Paris Michael Katherine (11) and Prince Michael II (7), aka Blanket, weren’t allowed to spend time in front of mirrors.
Author J Randy Taraborrelli, who knew Michael for 40 years and wrote his biography, says the star was a caring, loving dad.
“Little Blanket seemed content, while the older children were bright, confident, affectionate and considerate,” he says. “They prayed before meals. If one of them acted up they were sent to a corner to cool off. He taught them not to refer to any of their toys as ‘mine’ if friends were over. He wanted them to learn to share.”
“He was concerned about his kids growing up with the right values,” says Rabbi Shmuley Boteach, Michael’s one-time spiritual adviser. Prince once told his grandmother, Katherine Jackson, “I think he’s the best daddy in the world.”
Taraborrelli says the kids hung on Michael’s every word. “In their eyes he wasn’t strange, he wasn’t Wacko Jacko, he was just Dad. He never spanked or laid a hand on them. He didn’t raise his voice in anger and didn’t seem to have to.”
It’s said Michael wanted to adopt a fourth child but after the 2005 molestation charge he dropped the idea.
But the rumours that still swirl around the king of pop mean little to the three children who have to get used to life without their daddy.
*YOU was at the farewell memorial service in Los Angeles - see the 16 July issue.
