8 Kids From 6 Different Women: Clint Eastwood Formed a Unique Fathering Style We All Can Learn From

Whether it’s his older work, like The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly, that you adore, or you were inspired by his more recent films, like The Mule, Clint Eastwood’s work can probably be considered classics of American cinema. However, Eastwood can be proud of not just his successful career, but the big family he has and the effort he put into raising his kids.

We at Bright Side are inspired by the special relationship Clint Eastwood has built with his children, and we want to share his story with our readers.

He had complicated romances, but happy outcomes.

Clint Eastwood, a 92-year-old iconic American actor and director, had various romances during his long life and successful career. Eastwood’s diverse romantic life made him a happy father of 8 kids. Even after being divorced multiple times, he stayed a caring and protective father to his children. However, his personality resembled the tough and firm characters Eastwood often embodied on screen, and his parenting style is based on these specific traits.

His parenting style was mostly old-fashioned.

Recalling his teenagehood, Scott Eastwood, Clint’s son, speaks of his father as strict and demanding. “If you did something wrong, you were gonna get scolded,” he shared. “I learned quickly — you don’t do that.”

However, Clint cultivated in his son solid notions and pushed him to be protective of his sisters. “At the age of 16, I’d taken my younger sister, who was, like, 14, to a party,” shared Scott. “I left the party and I left her, and I didn’t think about it at the time.” When Clint found out, he got furious. “You don’t ever leave your sister at a party. Ever,” he said.

“It was very old-school, very old-school of him,” remembers Scott.

Though, he was not always strict and tough.

However, his strictness did not stop him from being accepting of his children. “Dad didn’t care if I was a plumber or an actor,” shared Scott. “He said, ’Whatever you do, just do it well. Be humble about what you do, be a good guy and tell the truth.’”

And his sometimes quite conservative behavior goes by the wayside when it comes to messing around and having fun with his children. “My dad is a much more cool and laid-back guy than a lot of his characters,” said Alison Eastwood, the daughter of Clint. “He has a wonderfully dry, dark sense of humor.”

He doesn’t let obstacles stop him from caring about his children.

Being an older parent might be uncomfortable for some, but it absolutely does not inhibit Eastwood. On the contrary, he feels like he became a better parent with age, spending more time with his children.

“I’m a much better father now than when I was younger because then I was working all around the world, and I was desperate to find the brass ring, so I worked constantly,” Eastwood shared. “I go to all the softball games and look ridiculous out there because almost everybody’s got a much younger father than me. But it’s fun. I think you appreciate everything a lot more when you get to my age.”

“I never started out thinking I would have a big family, but now it’s very important to me, and family relationships take precedence over work,” he said.

Now it’s the grandchildren’s turn.

Despite his complicated romantic relationships, Clint always had time for his children. “My parents split up when I was pretty young, but he always made time for us, even when he was working,” Allison shared.

Now, Clint is happy to spend time and energy on his grandchildren. Eastwood is a grandpa of 5, with his youngest grandchild, Titan, being 3 years old. Clint will definitely use his diverse experience in parenting to contribute to the upbringing of his grandchildren.

Did you know Clint Eastwood had such a big family? What do you think about his parenting style?