In a house where you could buy almost every toy, Michael Jackson decided that his children would not have had everything simply asking.
The rule was very concrete: if they wanted five toys, they had to read five books first.
But reading, for Michael, didn’t just mean getting to the last page.
He asked questions to Paris, Prince and Bigi to understand if they really followed the story, including what they had read and devoted attention to those pages.
Only then came the prize.
It was a way to transform a desire into something to conquer and, above all, to teach that privilege did not erase the value of commitment.
The same principle was also applied to some daily waste and concessions, which could depend on study, tasks and behavior.
His children were growing in very different economic conditions from those of most children. Michael was aware of it and tried to prevent that availability from feeding the idea that everything was automatically due.
It is a detail that also tells something about his personal experience.
Jackson had known work, discipline and success when he was still a child. As a father, he tried to convey to his children a simple lesson: possessing much does not mean losing the sense of the value of what one has.
So, in a family that could afford almost any gift, one of the most important educational tools was not expensive.
It was a book.
First reading, understanding and commitment came.
The toy came later.