When Usher and ex-wife Tameka Foster discovered that their eldest kid, Usher Raymond V, 15, had Type 1 diabetes, their lives changed.
Usher, who is partnering with Sanofi to raise awareness about Type 1 diabetes testing, opened up about his co-parenting experience, People reported.
"From the moment that Type 1 diabetes was a conversation, it was a re-acclimation to life. The life that we knew changed," the Grammy winner described the chronic condition in which the pancreas fails to create enough insulin for the body, necessitating insulin shots to keep blood sugar levels normal.
"It comes with a great deal of consideration and commitment in itself because we're all managing to make certain that my child makes the right decisions to have a happy, healthy life," he explained.
Staying on top of the sickness requires Raymond and Foster, who divorced in 2009, to work together, and the actor admitted that it's something they work hard at, as per People. "The breeding ground of disaster is lack of communication," he said. "You honestly have to find the means and the ability to have mutual parties." For him and Foster, "our kid's endocrinologist is a mutual ground."
He added, "It's been a task. It is very complicated because kids, by the way, will find a way to work against each other. You have to be mindful of what you say and that they're always listening and greater than that. They're always watching."
What has worked best for him and Foster, with whom he now has a 14-year-old son Naviyd Eli Raymond, is trying to understand one another.
"Her experience is what it is. My experience is what it is, and if we can find somewhere to meet in the middle to make the right decisions and also to be mindful of each other or at least sensitive to the things that matter to both parties, then that's hopefully success for everybody."
Usher recently collaborated with Sanofi's One Pledge Challenge to spread the word about early detection of Type 1 diabetes, which he wishes he had known about years ago.
"If I had honestly prepared myself better, I would've appreciated it," he said.
He's made finding normalcy a goal after years of guiding his child through life with the disorder: "It doesn't have to be a life devoid of fun or experience and the excitement of just being a careless young person."
Even as Usher prepares to perform at the 2024 Super Bowl Halftime Show in February, he suffers the same challenges that any parent of a teen does.
He said, "I think I'm really cool to my 2 and 3-year-old. They don't know any better. But my almost 16 and almost 15-year-olds, may think I'm not. They'll say 'You need to update this' or 'You could be doing this.' I'm trying to make certain I stay cool to them."
Usher added, "Dad life is everything. I live for my children. I've seen every first step and I've missed a few firsts as a result of my commitment to entertainment. But it's a sacrifice. I just hope that they see me as the dad that I didn't have. I'm a father that's 100 per cent about my family."
