ExclusiveJudge Judy Sheindlin is used to setting the law in the courtroom, but in a new interview with Fox News Digital ahead of the release of an episode of “Justice Judy” season three, she said it’s just as important for parents to set the law at home.
Sheindlin, who starred on “Judge Judy” for 25 years and now presents the case on the Amazon Freebie “Judy Justice,” said it’s important not to be an “indecisive” parent and that children should know what is expected of them.
For example, when it comes to difficult teens, Sheindlin advised parents to enforce a strict curfew.
Above all, she said, parents should avoid being their children’s “friends,” because if children view their parents as peers, they lose respect.
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“Judy Justice” will premiere a new episode on Monday, August 5th. (Michael Becker of Amazon Freevee)
“So my advice to parents is don’t be friends,” she told Fox News Digital.
“Parents sometimes run into problems when they say, ‘We just want to be our child’s friends,'” she continued. “But just like adults, children need rules. I mean, the country is in the state it is because the rules are so vague… But I think babies feel swaddled in the womb, and they feel intimate. That’s why we teach mothers and fathers of newborns how to swaddle their babies tightly when they’re young, because it makes them feel safe. And then as they grow, we loosen that swaddling so they can spread their wings. They crawl. They walk. But you should never shy away from the basic rules.”
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The popular TV judge impressed upon parents that children imitate everything they see at home.
“Unless you’re a psychopath, every parent wants their child to grow up to be a responsible, law-abiding, productive citizen, peer, and friend,” Sheindlin says. “And it’s the parents’ responsibility to foster those morals in the home. It’s nobody else’s responsibility. It’s not the school’s responsibility. It’s not the community’s responsibility. I’ve always believed that teaching morality is something kids learn by imitating their parents. So if you have parents who have no morals, your kids are going to imitate them because that’s what they know.”
Cast of “Judy Justice”: LR (Sarah Rose, Judge Judy Sheindlin, Whitney Kumar, Kevin Rasco). (Michael Becker/Amazon Freevee)
Even small lies should be avoided, she warned.
“Parents want their kids to grow up to be successful people,” she says. “If you’re on the phone and the phone rings and your 6-year-old answers it and it’s your stepmom and she says to your kid, ‘Tell her I’m not home.’ I mean, that sounds innocent, right? But in that moment, what you’re really teaching your child is that it’s okay to lie. My parents, my parents, parents that I look up to, taught me that it’s okay to lie. In the same way, if your child listens to you and you’re not telling the truth, that’s what they’re going to grow up to be.”
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Sheindlin’s son, Adam Levy, who plays a judge on “Tribunal Justice,” which Sheindlin created and executive produced and is also streaming on Amazon Freebie, said her no-nonsense nature carried over into the home, and while he laments that he couldn’t get away with lying to her, he credits her with helping him become a better judge.
““I became an interrogator because of my mother,” he told Fox News Digital. “As I was growing up, if I was ever a little bit out of sync or I lied or I tried to cover up by doing something wrong, my mother always knew. She knew. And it wasn’t just because she had a sixth sense — she certainly did — but she was able to ask me a series of questions that I ultimately couldn’t answer.”
“I was totally confused and she knew I was lying,” he continued. “I knew I was lying and I’ve been able to incorporate that into my style for the last 25 years. And the other thing she taught me is that someone has to control the courtroom, and usually the person who’s best prepared controls their own space in the courtroom, and that’s what I do.”
Judge Judy Sheindlin starred on “Judge Judy” for 25 years. (Michael Becker of Amazon Freevee)
“So what you have to do is set an example for your kids,” Sheindlin concluded. “Teach them. Teach them how to do the right thing. I tell my kids all the time that if you do the right thing, it doesn’t mean the right thing will happen in the end. But if you do the wrong thing, I can almost guarantee you that in life there are consequences. And one day it’s going to come back to haunt you. And all of your kids remember that.”
“Judy Justice,” which recently won its second Daytime Emmy Award for “Outstanding Court Program,” will premiere four new episodes on Prime Video and Amazon Freevee on Monday, August 5. All-new episodes will premiere every weekday through October 25. Episodes of “Judy Justice” season 2 will also begin streaming on Amazon Freevee. Amazon has not yet announced a date.
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When asked what he does in his free time when he’s not sentencing cases, Sheindlin described his day-to-day life as “boring.”
“Just a little bit of exercise on the treadmill,” she told Fox Digital. “I’m trying to start exercising again. My shoulder is really sore and my physical therapist just came back and I’m sitting there with ice on my shoulder and we’re talking.”
“When I’m not working, I’m like a vegetable,” she joked. “I’m tired one day and I carry that tiredness over to the next.”
But she enjoys having a large family, which she said keeps her “very busy.”
