Fighting For Independence
What made Jada so heartbroken, was that one day her son had informed her that he wanted to leave home. For good. Recounting the event Jada told Jaden: “You got to a point where you told me straight up. You were like, ‘Mom, I have to leave here to live my life.’”
Jaden agreed with his mother’s recounting of the incident with a very serious “Totally.”
Parents' Choices vs Kids' Choices
One day in 2018, Jada decided that it was time to put everything out on the (red) table. She invited both her children, Jaden and Willow, to participate in the episode. The goal was to try and talk as frankly as possible about their experience as a family, and contrast the children’s choices with how their parents felt throughout the years.
This led some very deep topics to emerge, including an incident involving Jaden that almost broke Jada to bits.
The Precious First-born
When Jaden first introduced her son, Jaden, during their Red Table Talk episode, she said, “Jaden’s my baby boy – my firstborn. He’s one of the most loving, gentle creatures that I know.” It was clear that she adored her loving child and couldn't speak more highly of him. Unfortunately, there were some dark truths hiding in the background.
These were initially revealed when Jada shared that Jaden had caused her to experience “one of the most heartbreaking moments of her life.”
A Tough Decision
Despite how difficult this transition was for Jada, she knew that it was Jaden's decision and she would respect it. Jada and Will spent so much time cultivating independence in their children, that it would be hypocritical not to let them make their own choices.
She revealed her thoughts at the time to the table. “I remember thinking to myself, as devastated as I was, I was like, ‘He’s right. The time is now; he’s 15. It’s time for him to leave the house.’”
The Backlash
While Jada and Will were beginning to open up to Jaden’s desire for his own life, not every member of the family was quite on board. Jada’s mother, Adrienne Banfield-Jones, suddenly barged into the conversation and admitted, “I would have never agreed to that.”
The doting mother was quick to defend her son’s decision and explained that they knew ever since he was a little boy that one day Jaden would demand his independence.