Wayne Rooney reveals his parenting techniques (and why the naughty step didn't work!)

Parenting is a challenge, and even being a world famous footballer won't change that.

England captain Wayne Rooney has opened up about being a parent and it turns out the sports star is just like us. When not on the football pitch, Wayne has his work cut out for him looking after three young boys. He even admitted that in the Rooney household, the naughty step didn't work out!

Speaking to the Mail Online he said: 'We did have one, but we haven't used it for a while now. We realised it wasn't working!'

Wayne also spoke about how his own childhood has influenced his parenting techniques.

Although the footballer admitted to getting the 'occasional smack' as a child, he laughed adding 'probably when I deserved it'.

However, Wayne said that when it comes to his own kids, he takes a different approach. 'I think the right way to deal with your kids is to talk to them - talking to them can always help a lot more than smacking them. It's so important.'

Wayne and wife Coleen have Kai, six, Klay, three, and eight-month-old Kit. Being a parent to three young children, Wayne says he's aware of the dangers of cyberbullying and does his best to protect the little ones from any danger.

'Obviously we put parental controls on and on and only let them play with all the kids' stuff.

'We just do things as we see fit and whatever we think is the best way. There are a lot of things, in terms of the way we've been brought up, that have helped us out and we've tried to carry on setting those examples.

'Coleen and I just try to be the best that we can be, and treat every day as a new day.'

The family might live in a £6 million mansion in Cheshire, but no matter how big their house, Wayne admitted they're just like any other family as Coleen 'has a go' at him for leaving Lucozade bottles around the house.

And no matter how famous he is, Wayne revealed that his eldest son Kai still gets embarrassed by his dad.

'You can see that sometimes, when he's round his mates, he doesn't want to know me or say hello!

'So I make it worse - if he doesn't say anything, I'll go and over and give him a kiss, ha!'

Wayne is currently supporting the NSPCC's Little Star's charity Christmas campaign.