Alexis Ohanian may be a powerhouse entrepreneur, but when it comes to his parenting game, he’s just as committed—and a whole lot more creative. The ‘Business Dad,’ has perfected the art of juggling a thriving career with being an all-star dad to his daughters. From flipping artistic pancakes on lazy weekends to planning epic outings to their favorite spots, he’s the kind of dad who doesn’t just show up—he shines. But the fun-loving dad persona is not the only aspect of his fatherhood duties. When it comes to parenting, Serena Williams’ husband has some rules, and one area where he doesn’t mess around is the internet.
The 41-year-old engaged in an interaction with the British author and podcaster Jay Shetty on the latter’s eponymous podcast and deliberated on a wide range of topics ranging from his professional duties to his responsibilities as a father. When quizzed about how he wishes to expose 7-year-old Olympia to the internet, Ohanian had his thoughts clear. He highlighted that while he has gradually started to have discussions about the internet with Olympia, he is not on the side of exposing her a lot to it.
Speaking in the interview, Ohanian said, “I think my wife and I both, we try not to talk down to our kids. But at least like I want her to to ask that follow-up question of like well what is that or why or how. We’ve had versions of this conversation. She does not understand the internet. There have been little glimpses that I have given her into it um but very very tightly controlled.” Continuing further, he highlighted that Olympia uses the internet only to play Roblox, an online game, and that too with either her parents or some school friends. “She knows the internet basically as this basically Roblox yeah and a place where she has fun and runs around and that’s it. That’s the extent of interacting with folks.” Detailing further, Ohanian revealed that he wishes to delay internet exposure for her for as long as possible.
“I would like to put off social media,” he asserted. While he acknowledged that her daughters have social media accounts, he shared that it is run either by him or Williams. “Now that she’s at an age of consent. It’s basically just like you know we’re quite rarely putting photos up and it’s only because she’s like oh yeah you can you know post this up but the understanding of it is social media is something that I for as long as possible would like to put off.” Elaborating on his plans, Ohanian further revealed that he desires to expose her daughters to social media only when they are aware enough of the right way of interacting with people online.
Interestingly, this comes from a father who has co-founded Reddit, a social media platform. But it seems that Ohanian’s duties as a father have given him a different worldview about how and when to expose children to social media and the internet in general. This,
In an interaction with the INBOUND podcast in September this year, Serena Williams spoke about how she handles her seven-year-old Olympia’s upbringing amid social media. “It’s a scary world. It’s a digital world for kids right now. I’m always on with my daughter, but we don’t allow her on certain platforms,” she said, adding how “you never know” what kids pick from social media. “I feel we might try to take it slow with her and do a little bit slower with electronics, and just let her be a kid for as long as you can,” the tennis great added. Coming back to Ohanian, the 41-year-old has often highlighted his style of parenting, and let’s just say, it’s definitely unique.
Alexis Ohanian is a true family man. But when it comes to his daughters, his love certainly knows no bounds. For Ohanian, becoming a father is no less than an achievement as has been revealed by himself time and again. And it is probably for this reason, that he believes in a unique parenting style.
In a candid revelation on his Business Dad podcast in July this year, Ohanian shared, “I generally think about gentle-ish parenting the way I like to parent. I do generally like the idea of talking to my kids instead of talking down to them” He also revealed how fatherhood has its “ebb and flow” and how this experience gave him a unique worldview and ability to evolve as a human. “The relationship has layers to it, which has been really fun. But for a six-year-old, I’m just starting to unpeel the human and really learn all the different feelings and desires and hopes and fears. And it’s awesome,” Ohanian added.
