interview elly-may
How did you as a father encourage , support and embrace each child in the family to become the best they could be ? If a child feels loved and feels safe they will go on to be the best they can be . I have tried to give them that love and courage to face what comes . You give your children the tools to grow up but what they choose to do with them is up to them . They make mistakes and they make the right decisions . All a parent can do is be there to encourage them and to offer them help and love when they need it .
Having a family member with a disability can sometimes be a juggling act especially in the younger years . How did you manage these things while being Jimmy Barnes the rock icon ? Who were some of the people along the way that helped in this journey ? Elly-May was so incredible as a child . We knew she was fighting to get on top of her disability but she tried so hard and worked so hard to get by that most people didn ’ t even notice she was disabled . We treated her with respect , as we did all our children , and she led a normal life . She struggled with pain and surgery and having to wear casts on her legs but the whole family struggled with her . Her brother and sisters were with her all the way . We spent a lot of days at the rehab centre at the Westmead Children ’ s Hospital and had help from so many incredible people there – doctors , nurses and parents of other children going through the same struggles as Elly . We never felt alone .
We all do the best we can during any stages of our lives but do you have any regrets as a father ? I have a lot of regrets . Could I have done this ? Could I have done that ? But as I have grown older I have learned that every mistake I have made is an opportunity to learn . I don ’ t look back and let mistakes drag me down . I would rather look forward and see what is coming and think about how I can make the right choices and make the right decisions . Looking back at my mistakes is a waste of time unless I can learn from what I see .
You are a grandfather now . How has that changed you ? Being a grandparent is great . I remember when we first had children we would be worried about everything . Oh my god , she coughed or he ’ s fallen over and cut his head . Now as grandparents you are a little more calm . Yes , we can fix that cough , let ’ s go to the doctor . He needs stiches but he will survive . That myth about it being so great because you can give them back is untrue . We never want to give them back .
What is in store for you say in the next 5 , 10 or 20 years ? I ’ m happy being a grandparent and I want to be as involved as I am needed . I love singing and will continue to write songs and sing as long as people are interested . I am loving writing books and I can see myself doing more of that . I even have a few ideas for some fiction on the backburner .
What it was like growing up in a house full of music ? I guess I don ’ t have anything to compare it to but I do feel very lucky to have been exposed to so much different music throughout my life . Everyone in my family is musical , but everyone kind of likes different styles .
Aside from having your father ’ s music in your life , who were some other musical influences growing up in the Barnes ’ house ? As I said , we all kind of like different music . Dad likes a bit of everything and I have been very influenced by his taste in music . As a kid I really loved Michael Jackson and as I ’ ve gotten older I ’ ve listened to a lot of Beatles , Rolling Stones , Neil Young , Bob Dylan ( my baby boy is named Dylan ), Blondie , Divinyls and David Bowie .
When I was a teenager I was often told to ‘ Turn my music down ’. I could imagine it may have been different in your house . Am I right ? I used to close my bedroom door and sing at the top of my lungs because I thought no-one could hear me with the door closed . No-one ever told me to turn it down though I think my Silverchair phase wasn ’ t for everybody !
You have cerebral palsy but it hasn ’ t stopped you from striving towards achieving goals in your life . What advice would you give young people with disabilities to get out there and begin to dream or work at their goals ? I feel like having something like a disability can just make you a
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