Today might not be Feel-Good Friday, but the following story is sure to make you feel like there's still hope, particularly if you're a parent with parenting views similar to those of Food Network star Guy Fieri.

Fieri, the host of the Food Network's "Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives" and self-proclaimed "Mayor of Flavortown," exclusively told Fox News in December 2023 that his two sons were not entitled to a free ride despite the lucrative empire he continues to build.

On Wednesday, Fox reported on a conversation Fox News Digital had with Fieri's oldest son, Hunter, about what it was like being raised by his "strict yet entertaining" father at a pre-Super Bowl party. The 27-year-old said:

That is a loaded question. I mean everything, you know, he's a great father. But hard work and perseverance and just learn as you go. Just keep working hard, keep your head up. He's taught me a lot about culinary—

Guy interrupted: "Get your sleep, brush your teeth, eat your vegetables." "How to tie my shoes and stuff," Hunter interjected.

As I mentioned at the top, Fieri said in December that there would be no free ride for his boys.

I've told them the same thing my dad told me. My dad says, 'When I die, you can expect that I'm going to die broke, and you're going to be paying for the funeral.' And I told my boys, none of this that we've been … that I've been building are you going to get unless you come and take it from me.

If you're picturing a hypothetical kid who thinks he or she has the right to have or do whatever he or she wants without having to work for it because he or she thinks "they" deserve it, simply because of who "they" are, you're not alone — seems to be it's more commonplace that it's ever been.

Fieri then spoke about his other son, Ryder.

My youngest son, Ryder, is a senior in high school getting ready to graduate, or you know, going to graduate in the spring. And he's like, ‘Dad, this is so unfair. I haven’t even gone to college yet, and you're already pushing that I've got to get an MBA? Can I just get through college?'

"Shaq (NBA Hall of Fame great, Shaquille O'Neal) said it best," Fieri recounted, telling Fox:

Shaq said it about his kids one time. He says, ‘If you want any of this cheese, you’ve got to give me two degrees.' Well, my two degrees mean, you know, postgraduate. So they're on their way.

Incidentally, Shaq also told his kids: "We ain't rich. I'm rich."

The big fella nailed it.

The Bottom Line

I haven't meant to suggest that a majority of today's kids are like the "hypothetical kid" I suggested earlier, but I do believe that too many of today's parents don't see or appreciate the parenting values practiced by Guy Fieri and Shaq. For those so inclined, they do neither themselves nor their kids any favors.

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