Robert De Niro’s ‘Disneyland Dad’ Approach to Parenting Criticized by Friends

The 81-year-old Godfather legend welcomed Gia — his seventh kid and first with longtime girlfriend Tiffany Chen, 45 — in April 2023, and while he’s happy to show her off, he won’t do the diaper duty.

“No, no, but I used to,” De Niro says, insisting he does help. “I spend my mornings watching [toddler YouTuber] Ms. Rachel with her, and I give her her bottle.”

Adds an insider: “It’s pretty insensitive to brag about being a deadbeat diaper changer, but he’s an old-school guy.

“He insists he changed diapers with his older kids, but clearly doesn’t see it as all that important now. He likes to be the Disneyland dad and swan in and out and leave the heavy lifting to Tiffany.”

While martial arts expert Tiffany “tolerates it, others think it’s lousy and feel he would bond better with Gia and strengthen his relationship with Tiffany as well if he stepped up.”

De Niro also has adopted daughter Drena, 57, and biological son Raphael, 48, with ex-wife Diahnne Abbott, 29-year-old surrogate twins Julian and Aaron with ex-galpal Toukie Smith, and Eliot, 26, and Helen, 23, also via surrogate, with ex-wife Grace Hightower.

With all that “daddy” experience, “the feeling among his pals is he needs to man up about the messy stuff with little Gia!” adds the source.