Charlie Sheen and ex Denise Richards with their daughters.

Charlie Sheen has upped his game this week from trolling radio shows to giving TV interviews about what it’s like to have “tiger blood and Adonis DNA,” as he told The TODAY Show’s Jeff Rossen in an insane interview this morning. But even more compelling is Sheen’s no-holds-barred, live-streaming interview with TMZ that ended just a bit ago. TMZ’s Mike Walters sat down with Sheen in his backyard and asked him some very candid questions about his condition and his children.  Sheen was less defensive with Walters than he has been with other interviewers, probably because Walters vibes like a true bro with his spiky hair and track jacket.

There’s not enough time in the day for me to analyze every moment of Sheen’s lengthy interview (embedded below), but his comments on parenting are certainly worth examination here on Strollerderby.  Walters cut to Sheen’s core when he mentioned Sheen’s father’s level of concern about his son’s condition, which led Sheen to talk about his own kids.  Here’s a transcript:

Sheen: I’m 45 years old. With 5 kids.

TMZ: How are the kids, by the way?

Sheen: Awesome. Awesome.

TMZ: What about the fact that your kids will probably read about this?

Sheen: I hope they do.

TMZ: What do you want to come from that?

Sheen: I hope they say, “Dad fill in the blanks, this sh*t’s gnarly. This stuff’s epic.”

TMZ: You don’t think it’s a bad example to set for your children?

Sheen: No, I think it’s the Pandora’s Box thing, like don’t eat candy, then at the 1st birthday party they’re havin’ a frickin’ brain tumor cuz they ate 7,000 red vines.  Cuz they never tasted it before, like, “My God, this has been on the planet all this time?!”  No man, don’t hide your children from stuff.  And this passive parenting stuff I don’t agree with.  Don’t let a kid put you on a schedule.  Don’t let a kid lead you around.  You know, lead by example and teach your kids right and wrong and if my right and my wrong is a little bit different than everybody else’s, then my kids are gonna be a little bit different, too.  Well, they’re already different, they’re my kids, duh.

TMZ: I met one of your sons on the way in – what do you do when one of your sons comes up and says I wanna try beer, or cocaine?

Sheen: I would strongly recommend against it, but if he wants to try a beer, do it here. At least he’s not drivin’ around like some clown. Like some amateur.

TMZ: What about cocaine?

Sheen: Nah. There’s no room for it, there’s no place for it, there’s no victory with that drug.

TMZ: You went to the epic party, it was a life experience, it was something you did because you can tell the story.  Would you let your kids have that experience?

Sheen: Of course not, because they wouldn’t survive it and that’s the bottom line.  I wouldn’t allow them to go anywhere near that type of an event or scenario or story.  I’ve got enough story for everybody.

And there’s the rub: Sheen’s double standard for his kids.  It’s okay if Daddy abuses himself, because Daddy can handle it, because all Daddy does is win (duh), but you can’t handle it, kids.  Of course, all parents hold their children to a double standard in one way or another.  I can swear, but my 5-year-old daughter can’t.  The difference being, though, my 5-year-old daughter doesn’t want to swear right now.  What happens when she turns 12 and suddenly she doesn’t give a flying cuss about my double standard anymore?  Sheen is of course headed for the same face-off with his own children, but will hopefully get the help he needs before that day arrives.

The problem with Sheen is that he’s smart, and he knows it.  Amongst his insane ideas (I can cure my addiction by closing my eyes and making it so) he has great ideas, like “lead by example.”  It’s only sad that he doesn’t know how to do it.  Sheen is battling not only addiction but an intense narcissism, and has – as many celebrities do – surrounded himself by yes men (and yes goddesses) who aren’t going to challenge his stance on AA or encourage him to issue an apology to network execs and Two and a Half Men creator Chuck Lorre. Of course, the fate of Two and a Half Men should be the least of Sheen’s worries right now, though (if true) he does make some fair points about how the studio has avoided communicating with the star about his problems.

Here’s the first half of TMZ’s interview, including the section on parenting. To see part two, click the link to TIME below.

Video streaming by Ustream

Sources: TODAY Show interview with Rossen, TMZ Interview via TIME magazine

Photo: Famecrawler

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