Kevin Costner Reveals the Biggest Life Lesson He Has Learned as a Father to 7 Children (Exclusive)

Kevin Costner’s kids have shaped who he is today.

In an exclusive interview with PEOPLE, the actor, 70, reveals the biggest life lesson he has learned as a father to seven children — loving and raising them as their own unique individuals.

“You love them all the same, but they are all different, so you find ways to do that without treating them all the same,” Costner, who continues his longstanding partnership with Green Mountain Coffee Roasters, says. “You’ve got to take into consideration their differences.”

“If you just keep coming at them in a certain way, and you’re not getting through, it’s up to you to change a little bit,” adds the star. “Maybe your messaging, maybe how you do it. You have to adjust to their individuality.”

Costner shares three adult children — Annie, Lily and Joe — with his ex-wife Cindy Silva and son Liam with former partner Bridget Rooney. He is also a dad to teenagers Cayden, Hayes and Grace with ex-wife Christine Baumgartner.

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According to Costner, he and his children reunite as often as they can — despite everyone’s hectic schedules that keep them spread across the globe.

“It’s here and there now,” the Academy Award, Emmy Award and Golden Globe Award-winning star explains. “Trying to gather them all [together at the same time] is very difficult as they all move through the directions of their life.”

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For Costner, the idea of “home” is super important to him and his large family.

“You try to provide a place that they’ll want to return to,” he says. “I always design my homes for me and mine — for my children and their children — so that they enjoy coming back.”

For Father’s Day this year on Sunday, June 15, Costner says his plans coincide with another family moment.

“My son Cayden is graduating, so all the children are coming in to see him graduate,” the proud dad tells PEOPLE.

“It’ll be a four or five-day [event], hanging out for as long as we can,” continues the Horizon: An American Saga director, writer and star.

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Speaking in more detail about his excitement tied to his son’s educational milestone, Costner says, “We’re all really proud of him.”

“[This is] one of those things that mark his life, and he’s done it beautifully,” he adds.

Source People.com