Food Channel’s Guy Fieri Wants His Sons, Ryder and Hunter, To Be Self-Sufficient In Life

For Food Network host Guy Fieri, family is everything; therefore, he ensures his two sons, Ryder and Hunter, are equipped with the necessary skills to wade through the murky waters of life. Moreover, Fieri understands where to enforce the rules and when to relax them. As to decisions like career choices, he leaves it to the duo and claims he does not force anything on them. “As a dad, I’m more interested in what my kids are interested in than what I’m interested in, ” he said. “I don’t drag them into what I want to do.”

However, when his kids got their driving licenses, there were rules that he claimed were “rites of passage.” Fieri shared the experience of his second son, Ryder, revealing, “You know what Ryder drove to school [when] he got his license? He got my parents’ old, used 259,000-mile Chrysler minivan. I’m not buying Ryder a car, and I refuse to let him buy a car until he spends one year with no tickets, no accidents, driving the minivan.”

Fieri wants his kids to prove themselves

Also, Fieri’s put out a challenge to his son to test his ability to take charge of situations and be in control. “Show me that you can spend a year driving the car, not getting any dents, not getting any wrecks, not getting any tickets,” Fieri said he told Ryder. “Prove that you’ve got it all together. Then you can take your own money out of the bank and go buy a car.”

As much as he provides the necessities Ryder and Hunter need, he wants them to pave their own path, and his training is evident with Hunter, who recently signed his own talent deal with Food Network.

Additionally, Hunter testifies to his father’s parenting skills, “He’s a great teacher and a great father and leads by example. He does the right things to train you for the real world. And teaches you discipline and hard work and to not give up, and that not everyone’s going to hold your hand through life.”

Ryder’s brother supports his father’s decision

Ryder is not the only one who has gone through the “rite of passage” as Hunter had his fair share with his grandfather’s 1996 truck, which he claimed had “no working windows.” Now 26 years of age, he understands the reason for his dad’s decision and is “glad that Ryder is driving the minivan.” Fieri’s oldest son added, “It’s a great lesson for him.”

Related: Guy Fieri Personally Gifts Dinner for ‘Six Million Dollar Man’ Star Lee Majors