Justin Baldonican’t believe how fast his kids are growing up.The actor, 37, is dad to son Maxwell Roland-Samuel, 3, and daughterMaiya Grace, 6, and in a new interview with PEOPLE, Baldoni speaks candidly about their first day of school and how he remains present as a working father of two.Baldoni, who shares his two kids with wife Emily, says he was a “mess” after dropping his kids off for their first day of school last week.“I was bawling,” theJane the Virginstar admits, before sharing the hilarious mistake he and his wife made when it came to pick-up time.“We were so anxious to see [Maiya], we picked her up an hour and a half early. We got there and the teachers were like, ‘Yeah, it’s actually 3:30 and not 2:00,’ " he recalls with a laugh. “[Maiya] was like, ‘Why are you guys here early?’ She was mad at us for coming early.“Baldoni says he and his wife took their daughter’s response as a good sign: “Emily and I were like, great, she’s enjoying it. This is good. And so we left and then we came back and got her an hour and a half later.“Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.The star says he became emotional on the first day of school as he struggled to find where the time went with his children.“When I dropped her off, I was like, ‘Where did her kindergarten pre-K years go?’ I feel like before the pandemic hit, she was in pre-K and now I have a first-grader.” he says. “How did this happen? And where was I? And [I felt] all the daddy parent guilt you feel when you’re trying to build a career and support a family and also be a present father.“The father of two says it’s important to him to be present when he’s with his two kids, “even if it’s for 20 minutes or if it’s for an hour.““It’s helpful for me to show up and be really, really present when I’m present, even if it’s for five minutes … It’s not about how much time you spend with them. It’s about the quality of the time that you spend with them,” he adds.PHOTO: Michael SimonPHOTO: Michael SimonThe actor recently spent quality time with his kids working on theBack-to-School, Alright!music video as part of his partnership with HP Instant Ink to drive awareness for their new campaign HP Pays Your PTA. The video is a hilarious — and highly relatable — parody of the 1997 Backstreet Boys song “Everybody (Backstreet’s Back).““It’s important to recognize that there’s just a lot of funding inequality in schools around the country and PTAs are really important. And it’s really important for us as parents to get involved in our schools,” Baldoni says. “Kids need school and they need great teachers and we need to support teachers and we need to support schools.“Along with raising money for a good cause, theMan Enoughpodcast host says his goal for the music video is to “make people laugh.“Baldoni adds: “This was kind of a dream partnership for me to raise money for PTAs and schools, to let my hair down, pun intended, to have fun with my family and create this song and help people smile a little bit.”
Justin Baldonican’t believe how fast his kids are growing up.
The actor, 37, is dad to son Maxwell Roland-Samuel, 3, and daughterMaiya Grace, 6, and in a new interview with PEOPLE, Baldoni speaks candidly about their first day of school and how he remains present as a working father of two.
Baldoni, who shares his two kids with wife Emily, says he was a “mess” after dropping his kids off for their first day of school last week.
“I was bawling,” theJane the Virginstar admits, before sharing the hilarious mistake he and his wife made when it came to pick-up time.
“We were so anxious to see [Maiya], we picked her up an hour and a half early. We got there and the teachers were like, ‘Yeah, it’s actually 3:30 and not 2:00,’ " he recalls with a laugh. “[Maiya] was like, ‘Why are you guys here early?’ She was mad at us for coming early.”
Baldoni says he and his wife took their daughter’s response as a good sign: “Emily and I were like, great, she’s enjoying it. This is good. And so we left and then we came back and got her an hour and a half later.”
Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.
The star says he became emotional on the first day of school as he struggled to find where the time went with his children.
“When I dropped her off, I was like, ‘Where did her kindergarten pre-K years go?’ I feel like before the pandemic hit, she was in pre-K and now I have a first-grader.” he says. “How did this happen? And where was I? And [I felt] all the daddy parent guilt you feel when you’re trying to build a career and support a family and also be a present father.”
The father of two says it’s important to him to be present when he’s with his two kids, “even if it’s for 20 minutes or if it’s for an hour.”
“It’s helpful for me to show up and be really, really present when I’m present, even if it’s for five minutes … It’s not about how much time you spend with them. It’s about the quality of the time that you spend with them,” he adds.
PHOTO: Michael SimonPHOTO: Michael Simon
The actor recently spent quality time with his kids working on theBack-to-School, Alright!music video as part of his partnership with HP Instant Ink to drive awareness for their new campaign HP Pays Your PTA. The video is a hilarious — and highly relatable — parody of the 1997 Backstreet Boys song “Everybody (Backstreet’s Back).”
“It’s important to recognize that there’s just a lot of funding inequality in schools around the country and PTAs are really important. And it’s really important for us as parents to get involved in our schools,” Baldoni says. “Kids need school and they need great teachers and we need to support teachers and we need to support schools.”
Along with raising money for a good cause, theMan Enoughpodcast host says his goal for the music video is to “make people laugh.”
Baldoni adds: “This was kind of a dream partnership for me to raise money for PTAs and schools, to let my hair down, pun intended, to have fun with my family and create this song and help people smile a little bit.”
source: people.com
