TJ Jackson – who is the legal guardian of Prince, Paris, and Blanket – discussed the lessons passed down in the wake of Michael Jackson’s passing. He insists that his late uncle was the “greatest father” to his children and their “core ethics and values” derived exclusively from the singer.

Speaking on Barbara Walters Presents: Michael Jackson: The Man in the Mirror, TJ explained: “I don’t think there’s anything I had to teach them because my uncle taught them everything they need to know.

All the important things – their core ethics and values are so strong, and there’s moments where I just hear my uncle’s voice come out of them because [of] their love for people and their innocence.”

And TJ says he consistently reminds his cousins how lucky they were to have Michael as a father.

“I don’t even spend time on my uncle with them as a performer. I just try to make sure that they know their father was one of the greatest, greatest fathers. And that’s why it’s tough for me because he never got to finish his job as a parent,” he shared.

The news comes after the pop singer’s eldest son, Prince, recently expressed how his late father taught him “what it is to be a man.”

He explained: “He taught me what it is to be a man; he showed me what it is to be a father. For me, [I want] to pass that on to my kids, or to help someone else who has kids.

My cousin TJ [Jackson]’s kids, I treat them as if they were my kids. I have fun with them, I love watching them. That being said, I do hype them up, and they do get wild around me, but I think that would probably be the way to continue the teachings.”