Reba McEntire Shares How She Raised Son Shelby Not To “Be A Spoiled Brat”

Shelby Blackstock / Facebook

Reba McEntire Explains How She Raised Her Son Shelby To Not Be “A Little Jerk”

Reba McEntire opened up to PEOPLE about her life and career during a 2022 interview. One topic she spoke about at length was motherhood. She shares a son, Shelby Blackstock, with her ex-husband, Narvel Blackstock.

Shelby is now in his 30s. He married Marissa Branch in 2022 during a stunning ceremony in Walt Disney World’s Magic Kingdom. Reba and Shelby shared a mother-son dance to her song “You’re Gonna Be (Always Loved by Me).”

In her interview with PEOPLE, Reba shared how she approached parenting Shelby while he was growing up:

“When we would play games or cards, I’d never let Shelby win,” she said. “He wouldn’t have learned anything that way. I always told Shelby, ‘I’ll always love you, but I want other people to like you. So don’t be a little jerk. Don’t be a spoiled brat.’”

Reba Calls Her Son “A Gift From God”

Reba said she must have done a good job raising Shelby to be humble, because “a lot of people have told [her] you would never know [he] had been blessed with the life he was given.”

She gushed about the person Shelby is today, mentioning how “he’s always trying to improve and do better.” Reba went on to explain how Shelby made her a better person, too:

“Shelby is a gift from God to me,” she said. “We’re very close. I was a very self-centered person to a degree before Shelby. But then there’s a little character who you are given the job to protect and nurture and love and teach, so all the attention’s not on you anymore.”

Reba McEntire / Instagram
 

In the video below, you can hear Reba McEntire talk more about her son, Shelby. The video is from her past appearance on The Rachael Ray Show when she discussed Shelby’s racing career. She’s so proud of him!