Kelsey Grammer feels his newborn son gives him a second chance to nail fatherhood.
In October, the 70-year-old actor and his wife, Kayte Walsh, welcomed their fourth bundle of joy, Christopher, into the world, and his arrival marked Kelsey's eighth child.
The star - who has daughter Spencer, 42, with 69-year-old ex-wife, actress Doreen Alderman; daughter Greer, 33, with his former partner, hair stylist Barrie Buckner; as well as daughter Mason, 24, and son Jude, 21, with his 57-year-old ex-spouse, actress-and-dancer Camille Meyer - explained to E! News: "I’ve got older kids and I still reflect on that.
"I think, ‘Well, maybe I could’ve done that all better. I wish I could’ve done this a little better. I wish we were closer.’
"It’s been a great life with me and my families and the chances I’ve had with the kids. You have a responsibility to have a little design and a little bit of focus and some responsibility.
"I was probably a little weak on that element in the early days, because I was still sort of fleshing myself out, figuring out where all my demons lived, and where all my anxiety was and all the tragedy I'd had, I was still sort of sorting through some of that when I started having kids.”
Kelsey said the arrival of Spencer was an "awakening" for him, but he still felt challenged at the time.
The Cheers alum explained: "I was still confused and still looking for a career and still trying to find a way to make sure that I was going to be able to take care of everybody.
"Those were challenging days, they're a little less challenging now."
The Hollywood legend - who went on to have daughter Faith, 13, and sons Gabriel, 11 and James, eight, with Kayte - feels he is now capable of playing the "traditional" father figure role.
Kelsey - who met Kayte when she worked as a flight attendant on his flight to London, England, in 2009 - added: "I am certainly more available to play the role of a man that can actually point in the direction. And everybody go, ‘Yeah.’"
The Turbulence actor and Kayte - who got engaged in December 2010, and then tied the knot at New York City’s Longacre Theatre in February 2011 - welcomed Christopher in October.
And the newborn is doing "amazing".
Kelsey shared: "He’s a really easy kid, but my wife Kayte has been exemplary. The first couple kids, we were still sort of improving a little bit, but we were good at it.”
And he and Kayte do not have to stress much about their youngest son.
The Frasier star explained: "He’s sleeping through the night. He is her little charge right now, and he’s a wonderful kid. He was smiling at me this morning, and we were having a little chat.
"It’s great to have this new life in our life."
