When Marrying The Game first started, all we knew about Tiffney Cambridge was that she was Game’s fianceé. Now in its second season, we’ve gotten to know Tiffney for the more complete woman that she is: a sexy, stylish woman who can still rock an “inappropriate” outfit, a devoted mother and teacher, and a new author. When we spoke to Tiffney recently, we wanted to know how this mother of two manages, so here are her top tips for parenting while also being a reality star.
1. Dress Comfortably
Though she professes to love Chanel and high heels, Tiffney’s style changed after Cali and Justice came along. “I was known for walking around with heels on, even in high school,” she told us. “But I’m a mom, so day-to-day I’m really casual and comfortable because I’m running around with the kids. I stopped wearing as many heels. After I had the kids, it was flats and flip-flops.”
2. Teach Your Kids Respect, Above All Else
The Taylor children are adorable, yes, but they’re also great kids who love and respect their parents. Tiffney explains “I raise my kids like my mother raised me, to be very respectful. I talk to them with a stern voice, so they listen. I think a lot of it has to do with the fact that they’re in a Christian school, so they’ve been raised in the church and they have good Christian values, they’re respectful, and they have a good character about them.”
3. Don’t Sweat The Fact That Dad Is Just One Big Kid Himself
4. Don’t Baby Your Babies
As a new parent, I wanted to know Tiffney’s best piece of advice for raising a child. As a teacher, she puts an emphasis on education and treating her kids like adults. “It’s very important to be nurturing. Spend a lot of time with your child, especially when they’re young, to really establish that bond. Once that bond is established, I think the children grow up to respect you more. They know that you’re there for them, they have a secure attachment to you, they’re not needy but they know you’re there and they look up to you and want to make you proud. That’s why Cali and Justice are so good, they don’t want to disappoint me. I set rules and boundaries for them at a really young age. I’m used to building up kids. I think that’s also why they’re so smart, I started reading to them when they were in my belly. Talk to them in adult talk, I don’t baby talk, don’t do that. Give them a lot of responsibility. They learn from example. They watch me interact with them and with other people and they pick up on that.”
5. Never Let Them See You Fight
Tiffney and Game called off their wedding because they’re still working on things in their relationship and they don’t always see eye to eye. When it comes to airing out their issues on TV, they try to shelter the kids from the arguing. “I don’t believe in arguing in front of kids, period,” she says. “As adults, of course we’re going to get into spats from time to time, but that can really be detrimental to young children when they don’t understand. They love both parents and they don’t want to see them arguing. Justice has kind of snuck in and seen it, but I tell him this is TV. Luckily he’s seen his dad in movies before with blood on him and fighting, so he knows that everything he sees on TV is not real, so a lot of times I tell him, ’Mommy and Daddy weren’t really fighting, that was for TV,’ and he accepts that.”