Michael Jackson children just like normal kids, says attorney

They are show business royalty, heirs of the King of Pop. Someday, they will be very rich. But a year after their father Michael Jackson's death, Prince, Paris and Blanket Jackson are normal kids full of fun and pranks, devoted to each other and to their grandmother who is their guardian, according to a lawyer who sees them frequently.

They talk about their father and his presence is everywhere in the ranch-style house in the San Fernando Valley where they live. Pictures and memorabilia adorn the walls. The gated compound has additional residences where other members of the family have lived over the years.

"The children are seemingly as normal as normal can be under pretty extraordinary circumstances," says Adam Streisand, the lawyer who represents Katherine Jackson and a frequent visitor to the compound where she lives with the children. He provided an account of life inside their guarded world in an interview with The Associated Press.

The large Jackson family, including eight of Michael's siblings and their families, has been a source of emotional support for the children, who frequently play with their cousins, Streisand says. And over the past year, Michael Jackson's parents, children and siblings have moved on with their lives in a world with his music but without him.

RELATED: Where did Michael Jackson's white glove come from?

The three youngsters have seen Michael Jackson's final concert movie, "This Is It," but their grandmother, still devastated by the death of her son last June 25, has not watched it.

In an interview with London's Daily Mail, published Sunday, Katherine Jackson said she misses her son every day but sees his spirit in his three children, whom she is raising "a little less strict" than her son would have.

Prince, whose birth name is Michael Joseph Jackson Jr., is the eldest of Michael's children. At 13, he has developed an interest in filmmaking, and his brother, sister and cousins have been starring in their own home movies.

"They have props and sets, and one of them acts as director. They all have roles," says Streisand. Recently, a snippet of film was leaked to YouTube showing Paris and Blanket in what might have been scenes from one of their movies. Katherine Jackson told the Daily Mail that Paris, who has a photo shrine to her father on her wall, wants to be an actress.

The one disturbance that brought social workers to the home, in March, stemmed from the kids' moviemaking, Streisand says. Jermaine's son, Jafar, 13, saw an Internet ad for a stun gun. He bought it by mail, thinking it would be a prop for their movies. When he tried shooting it into a towel, security guards came running. No one was injured.

The children love going to the movies, especially action and fantasy films, and are usually transported by security guards who are also on duty at the family compound 24 hours a day. The Jackson kids are avid students of karate and have made friends at their karate classes.

1 | 2 | 3 | 4

Next