Ben Affleck recently opened up about his personal thoughts on good parenting, and while the 49-year-old actor likely meant well, his comments demonstrate a certain privilege which has not sat well with critics. Speaking to WSJ in an interview earlier this week to promote his new film “The Tender Bar,” Affleck revealed that he believes children need two parents in order to have a good upbringing.
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Speaking to the magazine for their December/January issue he said, “It’s important to have two parents for the rearing and upbringing of a child.” The actor then continued with the thought, sharing, “The most important thing to me is to be a good father. Boys need to be taught.”
Affleck is the father of three children with ex-wife Jennifer Garner, and while the pair divorced in 2018, the actors continue to co-parent together. “How to behave, how to conduct yourself. What your values should be. The ways my father did that for me are really meaningful — as are the ways in which he was absent,” Affleck added of the values to impart upon children.
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The actor continued to hammer in the importance of fathers in a child’s life, saying, “You need a father for positive reinforcement. I got that from my father — and missed it when he wasn’t there. In some ways I was able to see both sides: growing up with — and without — a father.”
It’s unlikely that Affleck intended to make a commentary on single parents and other situations in which a two-parent home is not plausible, but critics were quick to point out the actor’s privileged mindset towards child-rearing. Affleck is currently in a relationship with on-again flame Jennifer Lopez, who has two children of her own with ex-husband Marc Anthony.
