Lance Bass loves adventures, but lately he's been staying close to home.
"I'm a risk taker. I love skydiving, all that type of stuff," he said. "But these days, I don't really need to risk that, you know? Cause it is really all about my kids right now, and I want to make sure that I'm there for them."
Bass, who became a certified cosmonaut after undergoing training in Star City, Russia, in 2002, welcomed twins, Violet Betty and Alexander James, with his husband, Michael Turchin, in October 2021.
The singer, podcaster and N'Sync member said he's still learning as a new parent and has turned to friends for help. When asked which bandmate has offered him the best parenting advice, Bass praised them all as strong fathers before answering.
"I think Chris Kirkpatrick," Bass said of the insight he's received. "I kind of repeat a lot of the things he said to me early, at the beginning."
"When they were infants and he was over for the first time, I'm looking at these little blobs and I'm thinking 'Wow, I can't wait to hear their first word, or I can't wait to see their first step," Bass recalled. "[Kirkpatrick] said 'You can wait for their first step because you need to enjoy every single moment because time flies by.'"
Bass said he is focused on making sure his family plays safe this summer. He has a partnership with Duracell for campaign aimed at preventing children from swallowing lithium coin batteries through the use of a non-toxic bitter coating.
"As a new parent, I felt kind of ashamed that I didn't know about this, or even think about this," Bass said. "I didn't know the dangers of the lithium coin batteries and that kids were eating these things at an alarming rate and being sent to the hospital. So, I was very excited to know that they were making the lithium batteries taste so bitter that kids don't want to digest them."
He's also heeding Kirkpatrick's advice about enjoying each phase of parenting.
"Anytime I catch myself being like, 'Ooh, I can't wait for this.' I'm like, "Wait a minute. I can totally wait for it,'" Bass said.
