Lionel Richie knows that parenting isn't easy.
ET's Lauren Zima caught up with the legendary singer at his Hello fragrance collection party on Wednesday, where he touched on the challenges of giving his kids love and relationship advice. Richie is father to three children -- daughters Nicole Richie, 38, and Sofia Richie, 21 and son Miles, 25.
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"Let me just tell you it falls into two categories," theAmerican Idol judge began. "Boys, you know, are basic knuckleheads. So when they come to you, you know what that's all about because you were one of them and probably still are."
"When it comes down to the girls, girls can shock because they're open about their lives now," he continued. "I remember going to my girls and saying, 'OK, just tell me whatever's on your mind, run it by me and I can help you.' They've brought me some stories some days and I went, 'I don't want to know about this [laughs].'"
"So all I can say to all the guys out there who have girls, just call your wife in the room and say, 'Honey, you handle that,'" Richie said with a laugh. "And as far as the boys are concerned, just tell them, 'Don’t be stupid.' But it is a challenge, especially now with social media."
Richie, meanwhile, got his kids to give him feedback on his new Hello fragrance collection for men and women.
"If family is the closest thing to your truth serum, if you want to know [the truth] -- in between [my girlfriend] Lisa [Parigi], in between my kids, which is the god awful truth serum -- [they] don't even play around," Richie explained. "If you want to know if you're dressed or how you smell or whatever it is that you're gonna do, ask your kids."
As for Richie's youngest, Sofia, she was a fan. "She gave me a wow. What's that?'" he said. "I said, 'Really?' because I really didn't ask her…but my daughter had a lot to do with me making that final decision."
Richie also noted that it was all about "trusting my nose instead of my ear" when it came to deciding the scents, adding that "I just had to go in my garden to find out what fragrances I liked."
So will fans get more fragrances based on his other iconic songs? "I don't want to reveal that but, yes," he shared. "Probably as the future goes on I promise you'll hear more."
For more on Richie, watch below.
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