[Special] NBA's Chris Paul Talks Fatherhood with 'My LIfe As A Dad'

NBA star Chris Paul is the proud papa to son Chris Paul II, 5, and daughter Camryn, almost 2, with wife Jada. He recently caught up with parenting expert Daddy Nickell for My Life As A Dad, the popular new web series that delves into the lives of celebrity and professional athlete dads.

During the interview, the NBA star chats about what guys can expect when their partners become pregnant, his best advice for dads, and how he feels about traveling for games.

Daddy Nickell: What can guys expect when all of a sudden their beautiful little bride is now pregnant and starting to go through changes? How can men support and help their partners?

Chris Paul: “Those experiences are exactly why I am not having any more kids. [laughs] It was a lot of fun and, well, for me, I am not the one whose hormones are changing and whose body is changing. Especially with our first child, my wife was on an emotional roller coaster.

I’ll never forget how we were about to walk into our bedroom and I stepped into the laundry room to mess with her, and I jumped out and scared her. She was hysterical and cried and cried. It’s funny, I still think back to it now. My son is kind of scared, and I think that because I scared her that day and that she jumped the way that she did, my son is a scared person now.

You definitely have to take deep breaths and you have to understand what is taking place. She is the one who is experiencing all of the body changes, but it is an experience for the husband, too. I was reading a book, What To Expect When Expecting. Every flight that our team got on, I was into that book to see what is happening this month, what is happening that month, what’s this, what does the baby look like now?”

Daddy Nickell: What is your top advice for all dads?

Chris Paul: “Every dad is different, because you don’t know his work schedule and things like that, but I say this as it pertains to me: the most valuable thing that you have is your time. I can care less how much money you make or anything like that. I tell people all of the time that my kids are the most important thing to me.

Any time that I have to go somewhere, it kills me. I hate it and hate traveling now, because my son is old enough and will tell me ‘Dad, I am going to miss you while you’re gone. Why are you leaving me?’ When my brother and I grew up, our mom and dad didn’t miss anything. You know how you see in those movies where the kid is looking for his parents at his recital and they are not there? We never had to look because we knew that they were there. It kills me to know that there are times where my son will be playing a basketball game or something like that and I won’t be there. Time…that is one thing that your kids will never forget. They may not remember something about money, but they will remember whether or not you were there when they needed you.”

My Life As A Dad (www.mylifeasadad.com) is the first show of its kind to delve into the lives of celebrity and professional athlete dads to get their answers to important questions, such as how they feel about being a dad, their parenting philosophies, how they balance their family life with their professional life and, in some cases, how they relate their unique upbringing to being a dad today. The series features interviews with the likes Dancing with the Stars winner J.R. Martinez, NBA star Chris Paul, TV Host AJ Calloway, 2014 Super Bowl Champion Michael Robinson, and many more! You can subscribe to MLAAD on YouTube and follow them on Facebook (www.facebook.com/MLAADad) and Twitter (www.twitter.com/MLAADShow).