Gordon Ramsay's No-Nonsense Parenting Style: How The Famous Chef Teaches His Four Kids To Value Hard Work

September 4, 2018

It’s easy for us to assume that being a child of a celebrity means living a life of luxury. Actually, this isn’t always the case: many celebrity parents choose not to spoil their kids; instead, they teach them about the value of hard work. One of these parents is star chef Gordon Ramsay.

A post shared by Megan Ramsay (@megan__ramsay) on Aug 23, 2017 at 12:11pm PDT

Gordon Ramsay’s parenting style

Gordon Ramsay is a self-made man. His childhood wasn’t easy, but his dedication and hard work made him one of the most successful and well-known chefs in the world. Ramsay wants his four children – Matilda, Megan, Holly, and Jack – to follow in his footsteps, and we don’t mean a career on TV or becoming professional chefs.

A post shared by Megan Ramsay (@megan__ramsay) on Feb 4, 2017 at 5:42am PST

Ramsay and his wife Tana teach their kids that privileges come with hard work. The dad of four caught flak last year when he revealed that he and his wife don’t let their kids fly first class. Defending this choice, the celebrity chef told The Telegraph:

I am not embarrassed. It is my wife [Tana] and I’s choice to discipline them and to keep them real.

They have a completely different life than I did growing up. I worked my a** off to get out of the s*** mess that I grew up in and they’re grateful, they’re not spoilt.

Lunch with the Bunch.....special every time thx Dad

A post shared by Gordon Ramsay (@gordongram) on Jul 21, 2018 at 1:17pm PDT

While Ramsay and his wife will provide for their kids until they get on their feet, the children are not going to inherit the immense fortune their dad has accumulated over the years. In the same interview, Ramsay said:

It’s definitely not going to them, and that’s not in a mean way; it’s to not spoil them. The only thing I’ve agreed with Tana is they get a 25 per cent deposit on a flat, but not the whole flat.

A post shared by Gordon Ramsay (@gordongram) on Jun 21, 2018 at 8:49am PDT

Gordon Ramsay is not that strict after all

Ramsay expects his kids to fend for themselves once they grow up, and it’s actually a proof of his love – he wants his kids to grow into independent and well-adjusted adults.

Ramsay doesn’t get mad when his kids get bad grades at school. The dad knows from his own experience that your intelligence and ability to succeed in life is not defined by grades. He also believes the school system is seriously flawed – it puts too much pressure on children.

A post shared by @_jackrams3y_ on Dec 24, 2015 at 3:09pm PST

In an interview with Hello! magazine, he said:

I didn’t do well at school but I did well at cooking. And so I’m grateful for the way I was pushed and I think pushing yourself from 11 is important. Kids being made to feel inadequate because they can’t study algebra, or they don’t understand how to spell Czechoslovakia by the time they’re 10 is dreadful. Cooking is a great way of experimenting and developing a character. And cooking with no fear is amazing. Baking is chemistry, so forget physics at school.

What’s the takeaway here? Good grades don’t guarantee success. Here’s what’s really important: finding what you love and learning to do it exceptionally well.

A post shared by Gordon Ramsay (@gordongram) on Jun 17, 2018 at 2:54am PDT

A celebrity couple with a similar approach

While Ramsay’s approach to bringing up children may not be very common among celebrities, there are some other celeb couples who share the sentiment. The Beckhams’ parenting ways are somewhat similar.

Like Gordon and Tana Ramsay, David and Victoria Beckham are proud parents of four.

A post shared by Victoria Beckham (@victoriabeckham) on Aug 23, 2018 at 1:46pm PDT

In an interview with The Telegraph, David Beckham said:

We have always led by example, in terms of the way we treat our children, with the way we look after our children, the way we love our children.

But we are very strict parents. We want to bring them up as closely as possible to how we were brought, because you have to give them manners, you have to give them boundaries and our children definitely have that.

A post shared by Victoria Beckham (@victoriabeckham) on Aug 15, 2018 at 9:50pm PDT

Part of this parenting style is encouraging your kids to work ordinary jobs. Victoria Beckham spoke on The Ellen Show about her son Brooklyn:

He's worked in the local café cleaning up dishes for the last two years, which I think is great. It's important that the kids have a good work ethic and try to help other people as well.

A post shared by bb🌷 (@brooklynbeckham) on Jul 19, 2018 at 9:41pm PDT

It’s good to know that there are celebrities who keep it real for their kids. After all, it’s for their own good!