Singer Jordin Sparks on Practicing 'Gentle Parenting' and Surviving Daylight Saving Time With Her Son

The 'American Idol' alum also dishes on her new album ‘No Restrictions’, and how her son has played a role in career.

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Ask anyone and they probably agree—Daylight Saving Time needs to be abolished. It’s even one topic both sides of Congress can agree on, as they have been trying to pass a bill to make daylight saving time a permanent standard. It can be especially brutal on parents.

In the Fall, when we gain an hour of sleep, we parents trick ourselves into thinking we will actually get to enjoy that extra time for sleep. However, when you have kids, there’s no such thing. In the Spring, when we lose that hour, it’s twice as hard.

Singer-songwriter, actress, and mom Jordin Sparks, whose busy schedule includes jet-setting across the country for different projects in different time zones, knows the pain all too well.

Parents caught up with the American Idol alum, to talk about her parenting style, new music, and her partnership with the sleep aid Unisom which she says helps her get enough quality sleep as she tries to juggle everything that comes with being a working mom.

With the struggle of adjusting sleep times not just for her, but her entire household, Sparks says this partnership came just in time for Daylight Saving. She explains she will occasionally use a gummy version of the sleep aid to get her on track.

“Daylight Saving is always jacked. I grew up in Arizona, and we never changed! I don’t think I’ll ever get used to it, to be honest,” she says.

Sparks shares another sleep success tip—a white noise machine. She has one for her and her husband, Dana Isaiah, as well as her adorable son, DJ, who has used one since he was an infant.

"It’s almost like now since we’ve used it so long, as soon as we turn it on, it instantly makes him drowsy,” she explains.

Thankfully sleep issues tend to ease as our kiddos get older. But Sparks says she’s not quite ready for DJ, who is turning 6 in May, to move on to the next phase of childhood beyond Kindergarten.

“Six seems so much bigger than 5 for some reason,” she says, pointing out several milestones DJ has crossed, including learning to read and wiggly baby teeth. “I’m just really grateful; he’s just the greatest little boy. I love getting to know him and spending time with him.”

The twice Grammy-nominated singer says parenting certainly hasn’t always been easy but she takes more of a gentle parenting approach. She says that comes with its own challenges and can be exhausting. Open communication has been the key to her strong bond with her son, she says, especially apologizing when she is wrong.

When all else fails, she uses humor and, of course, music to help strengthen their relationship. Sparks, who became the youngest contestant to win American Idol at 17,  says music plays a huge part in her son’s upbringing.

“I talk to him through everything pretty much, and then we sing and we laugh. If there’s something that’s happening, or he’s frustrated or feeling irritated, I try to talk him through those feelings, but if that doesn’t work, I try to do something funny,” she says.

She admits the tactic works for now, but the never-ending journey of parenthood is always full of twists and turns, which keeps her on her toes.

“I still feel like I’m a new mom! But I also feel like I was meant to do it. I was meant to be in this place, and meant to be his mom,” she gushes saying she often tells her son she’s so happy he chose her and her husband to be his parents.

DJ is fully aware of his mom’s profession, having learned some of her greatest hits like “No Air,” “Tattoo,” and “One Step at a Time,” from watching her music videos. Sparks says he’s often with her in the music studio while she records, and she takes little breaks to get hugs and cuddles from him.

When she’s on the road for work, Sparks stays connected through phone calls and video chats where the two often sing together. She recently introduced him to her favorite artist, Nat King Cole, and sang “Orange Colored Sky” together on a phone call at her son’s request. “He just took to it so quickly!” she says proudly after he jokingly called Cole’s music “cheese.”

He’ll have some new music to learn from his mom, as Sparks is gearing up for the release of her latest album “No Restrictions” which is due out this summer. Fresh off her Grammy nomination alongside For KING & Country in February, Sparks says she’s been working on her new album, which draws influences from her upbringing. She also says the album is a mix of a few genres, including country, pop, gospel, and R&B. She released her single “Call My Name” in October ahead of her album release.

Sparks says traveling is tough when she is away from her son and her family, but she is looking forward to eventually going on tour for her new album. She explains she does have mixed feelings about DJ getting used to the whirlwind lifestyle that comes with being a multi-platinum singer/songwriter and actress. At the time of our interview, Sparks had traveled to New Orleans to work on a project and said her son was, for the first time, surprisingly OK with her leaving during this trip.

“It kinda made me sad because I was like, ‘Oh! He’s used to me leaving, what am I doing?!’ but then he said, ‘Well, have fun on your trip, WITHOUT ME MOM!’” she says laughing, imitating him. She says she may consider allowing him to travel with her more, once he’s older and as his school regimen allows.

Having been in the business since 2007, Sparks says above all she’s grateful to be able to continue to do what she loves, while also being a mom and raising a son, and that audiences are still in tune with her artistry. She teases that her album “No Restrictions,” is one of her most personal projects and is the motto of how she wants to live her life.

“It’s where I am at in my life,” she explains, “I feel like I’m that way as a woman, that way as a human, as a mom, as an artist. I want to be able to just be free and be the best version of myself without the constraints of what everybody else is trying to throw at me or make me be.”

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