Meet the Mom

Everyone knows the Jonas Brothers and their music. Now meet their mother!

By Denise Jonas, Dallas, Texas

Robert Trachtenberg/Corbis
Denise and her sons, the Jonas Brothers

 

Believe it or not, no one is famous in the Jonas household.
Yes, I’m blessed to have four very talented sons you might have heard of. But the challenges I had raising them are like what all moms face. I had to discipline and encourage them, set boundaries and bring them up with good values. I had to tolerate their tussling and correct them when they made mistakes.
I also learned from my mistakes. When you raise kids, you grow a lot too. Most of all, I had to make sure they knew they were loved. Love is the greatest value of all.
Recently I became a spokesperson (you could call me a spokesmom) for a website called iMom. It’s a quick, easy place for busy moms to go for solid parenting advice, some of which I used raising my kids and some I could’ve used!
Let ’em have fun. With four boys I quickly found out rugs are like tumbling mats and a sofa will be turned into a fort. I remember being in the kitchen once and wondering if a football team had invaded the living room.
“Rug time,” I called it. I thought of it as rearranging the furniture without a license. But you know what? My husband, Kevin, made sure no one got hurt and the boys released a lot of pent-up energy.
So forget the Hummel figurines for now. Let your kids have fun. And have fun with them.

Never mind the hair.
Hair is a battlefield. My boys have my hair—as every interviewer likes to point out. Thick and curly, thanks to my Italian heritage.
For some reason every teenage boy likes to try something crazy with their hair. They let it grow so long you can’t see their eyes or they iron it straight. Or they put so much goop on it it’s as alluring as a porcupine.
Every mom has a moment where she wants to attack her son’s hair with a comb or clippers. Resist. You have to choose your battles. Hair isn’t all that important. What matters is what’s underneath.
Buy the drum set.
The most valuable thing a parent can do is nurture your kids’ gifts. Your daughter wants to play softball? Find a team. Your son likes to sing? Listen.
The boys grew up surrounded by music. Kevin, Sr. (our oldest is also Kevin), is an amazing vocalist and songwriter. He was the pastor and worship leader at our church, so the boys learned all his songs (you should hear them mimic him—they love to tease).
Nick was the most precocious musically. At age three, he wandered around the house, asking, “Do you hear that? Do you hear the music?” Then he’d burst out with some song.