David Foster on reality of raising a toddler aged 73: 'I won't be around when he's 40 or 30 maybe'
David Foster has discussed the challenges involved in bringing up a toddler at the age of 73, but believes he has a lot to offer his little boy.
The music producer and his wife Katharine McPhee, 38, welcomed a son, Rennie in early 2021 and Foster has been reflecting on fatherhood this time around which he describes as "a little bit different".
As well as explaining how raising his son has differed to parenting his daughters Allison, 52, Amy, 49, Sara, 41, Erin, 40, and Jordan, 36, from previous relationships, the Grammy winner also shared some of the adjustments he's making for 70-something fatherhood.
"I had all daughters until my son and I love all my daughters immeasurably, but having a son is a little bit different," he told People.
The 16-time Grammy winner - who married McPhee in 2019 - went on to add: "At this point in my life, it's different again.
"Not better or worse, just different. I still work, I'm still gone a lot, but maybe the time is a little more precious to me because I got more runway behind me than I have ahead of me now," he said.
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Despite the challenges that come with bringing up a child at this stage in his life, Foster believes he has a lot to offer as a dad.
“I think that I can offer one thing to Rennie even though I won’t be around when he’s 50 or 40 even, or 30 maybe,” he told the publication.
“I think I can offer him wisdom from my [73] years on the planet, and maybe that’s not a bad trade-off. I hope so.”
Watch: 'We never even thought about it!': Katharine McPhee and David Foster 'don't care about age gap'
And welcoming a child in his eighth decade has also had a positive influence on some of the star's character traits.
"I was not patient when I was young," he admitted. "I was arrogant and just on the move."
Last year Foster explained that although becoming a father again at his age was "not something" he anticipated, he has never "regretted a single day of it."
"I've loved every single day," he told PEOPLE. "It's the standard thing of like: 'Oh, well you were so young when you had your children and you were working day and night, you never saw them'."
He went on to say that "there is some truth to that, sadly, for my [older] kids. I was just working a lot. Even though I'm working a lot now, I'll cancel anything just to hang with him. It's just different."
Foster isn't the only celebrity to experience fatherhood in their later years with a whole host of male stars embracing parenting in their 50s, 60s and even 70s.
From Simon Cowell becoming a first-time father at 54, to Sir Elton John joining the parenting party in his sixties and Mick Jagger welcoming his eighth child at the grand age of 73, it seems many celebrities are currently embracing the joy of changing nappies in their senior years.
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Back in 2021 George Clooney shared how much he was enjoying his role as an older father.
The actor, 61, discussed how raising his 5-year-old twins Ella and Alexander with wife Amal Clooney had made him really "happy".
"They're funny, and they pull pranks on me," Clooney told Marc Maron on the WTF with Marc Maron podcast.
"I just look at them thinking, I couldn't be happier and I couldn't be more surprised at how happy I am."
The Ticket to Paradise star also discussed how being an older dad informs his decisions in life and work. "The hard part is being 60 and just the sheer running around of it," he added.
