Liam Payne responds to criticism that he doesn't spend enough time with baby Bear and Cheryl

He became a dad last year

Liam Payne

Liam Payne, who welcomed his first child with Cheryl last year, has responded to critics who say he doesn't spend enough time with his family because of work.

The former One Direction member, who's been busy working on his career as a solo artist, hit out at the criticism over his parenting, explaining why he sometimes prioritises work.

'People have an issue with me going out to work. I know there are a lot of parents out there who are working really hard for their kids', he told Elliot Holman on Total Access radio.

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'Unfortunately, when you have a child, life does not stop, you have to carry on', he continued. 'For me, the main thing is this, I can either sit round at home and be a bum and enjoy the success I've had so far and teach my son absolutely nothing and all the wrong morals or I can go out and work really hard for what I want and do some amazing things and through the success show him what you can do with your life if you try.'

Speaking about his family life with Cheryl and their baby boy - who he says is struggling to take his first steps - Liam admitted that they're 'incredibly normal'.

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'I have a happy family life. We’re incredibly normal', he said. 'It would actually bore you if I told you how normal we were. I love my life. It’s great. We're having a great time.'

The 24-year-old has also spoken out about the birth of his son Bear, who they welcomed in March last year.

'Seeing the birth of your child is the most proud moment you can ever have,' he told Popbuzz. 'It's also the craziest and like mixed emotions you'll ever feel.'

'There's a lot of things that are kind of blurry but that one's like straight in there. And then you can just remember being in the waiting room afterwards just holding him feeding him a little milk after he's just been born.'

Mariana Cerqueira
Lifestyle Editor

Mariana is a lifestyle writer who has written for Goodto.com and My Imperfect Life. She joined the Goodto.com team as an intern after completing her journalism MA at City University. After six months spent writing about food, celebrity news, and family trends, Mariana left to write for Healthy Food magazine - but returned in 2017, to join the Future team once again. In her spare time, you’ll find Mariana in the kitchen cooking for her friends.