Novak Djokovic‘s wife Jelena has revealed her parenting philosophy, confessing in 2024 that she harbours concerns about the world in which their children are maturing. The pair, who were childhood sweethearts from school, tied the knot in 2014 and welcomed their son, Stefan, later that year. They are also parents to a daughter, Tara.
Ahead of Stefan celebrating his 10th birthday two years ago, Jelena acknowledged having ‘fears’ about motherhood but explained that she refused to allow those worries to influence how she raises her two youngsters.
Speaking to Zena, she explained: “I have fears like every parent, but I do my best not to let them control my behaviour towards the children. Circumstances have changed, but the world and the process of growing up and maturing have always carried with them uncertainties.
“I want to believe that if we give children a good foundation, which is the security of a family environment, unconditional love, acceptance, that they will have a stable base to deal with the challenges that the future brings.”
Jelena expressed her concerns about finding the proper equilibrium between safeguarding her children whilst allowing them room to develop, acknowledging she won’t discover whether she’s succeeded until they start managing life as adults.
“I haven’t taken the exam for achieving balance in parenting yet, so I’m not sure if I passed or failed it,” she revealed.
“They say that test comes when children grow up and when their time for independence comes.
“We will see how it will be. I think that today it is very difficult to find a balance in anything because society cultivates the mantra ‘never enough, more more more’ and then you see a lot of exaggeration in everything.”
Djokovic, meanwhile, said in an interview with Blic that he and his wife Jelena were having disagreements over his decision to ban their children from owning mobile phones.
Their kids have voiced their displeasure, stating they are the only ones at school without personal phones, but Djokovic insisted the ban was a lesson in resisting the urge to conform.
“My children still don’t have a mobile phone, my wife and I argue,” he admitted. “They complain: ‘At school everyone has one except us’. It’s not easy and this is reflected on other levels as well.”
He further explained: “If everyone does something, the herd behaves like this, you have to follow them. Well, it doesn’t have to be like that. This is where I think we differ from others, because we are stubborn and active.”