David Beckham’s rare intimate revelation about his kids is incredibly refreshing

David Beckham is notoriously private when it comes to his family life with wife Victoria and children Brooklyn, 20, Romeo, 16, Cruz and Harper, seven, but the former football star has opened up with some very specific details about how he and Victoria have chosen to parent their children in the spotlight.

As the Beckham family live it up with Elton John and his partner David Furnish on holidays in Europe, they’ve been blasting our Instagram feeds with drool-worthy photos of their adorable family.

Their lush European holiday is clearly not the sort of break most ordinary kids get to go on – filled with private yachts, designer clothes and Elton bloody John! – and it’s this life of privilege that David wants his children to know is highly unusual.

“I want my kids to be able to understand that they are very fortunate that they have that, but other kids around the world don’t and I will continue to fight for that,” he told HELLO! magazine.

“It’s a silly thing to say but our kids are the future. I’m very lucky to live in a city, in a country that the kids can have a great meal, they can drink fresh water, they can look after themselves and we’re very fortunate that we have that.”

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These most recent comments echo David’s previous statements about how he and wife Victoria are choosing to raise their children.

“We have always led by example, in terms of the way we treat our children, with the way we look after our children, the way we love our children,” David told the UK’s Telegraph in 2014.

“Their upbringing is a lot different to my upbringing so I think there is always a kind of fear factor… I mean, the first day that you have kids, you constantly worry.”

David says he and Victoria are very strict, ensuring their kids are well behaved at all times.

“But we are very strict parents. We want to bring them up as closely as possible to how we were brought, because you have to give them manners, you have to give them boundaries and our children definitely have that,” he said.

“It’s the most wonderful thing in the world but you are bringing children into a world where you really have to protect them. They are very privileged and they have a lovely life, and I want to protect that and to protect them from anything that goes on outside the family.”

The 44-year-old has enjoyed a long and fruitful career across many different industries, with the former footballer launching into fragrances, underwear and beauty products since retiring from sport – and he actually credits his kids for his career success.

“My children are my motivation. Simple as that. I want to prove to them that if you work hard you can be successful,’ he told the Telegraph.

“I have proved that over the last 15 years, after we had our first son Brooklyn, that I have always been a hard worker and Victoria is exactly the same.”

WATCH BELOW: The moment Brooklyn Beckham reduced his father David to tears.

We just can’t get enough of this adorable family!