Martina McBride on Not Spoiling Her Daughters: 'I Feel Like It Robs Them of Their Satisfaction'

Martina McBride's three daughters might've grown up with a country superstar mom, but that doesn't mean they always got what they want.

In this week's issue of PEOPLE, on newsstands Friday, McBride, 55, opens up about why she's "not about spoiling" her daughters Delaney, 26, Emma, 23, and Ava, 16.

"I feel like it robs them of their satisfaction when they do a good job or they earn something," she says. "I mean, there have been times where I've been like, 'This is ridiculous. My kid has one pair of shoes. Why does she just have one pair of shoes?' But I had one pair of shoes when I was a kid, and I was fine.'"

While growing up in rural Kansas, McBride says she was raised with "a really strong work ethic" which she has tried to instill in her own daughters.

"My husband John and I grew up the same way, where you work for what you get," she says. "So we raised them that way."

Still, she admits she's a bit more "hardscrabble" than her husband, whom she's been married to for 33 years.

"He'll sneak them a bit of cash, and I'll be like, 'What are you doing?'" she says. "They have him wrapped around their fingers for sure."

McBride released her debut album, The Time Has Come, in 1992, and two years later, she and her husband welcomed their first daughter Delaney. Though she went on to earn 14 Grammy nominations and four CMA female vocalist of the year wins in the years that followed, she says everything changed once she decided to become a mom.

"It became my priority," says McBride, who later had Emma in 1998 and Ava in 2005. "I felt like it was important for me to try to keep things as sane and normal as possible for the kids, so I turned down a lot: TV opportunities and touring overseas for extended periods of time. But I wouldn't trade it for anything."

"I really did get the best of both worlds," she adds. "I got to have this amazing, exciting, fulfilling career, and I got to raise these human beings who are just the loves of my life."

RELATED VIDEO: Find Out Which Hunky Celeb Made Martina McBride Starstruck in an Elevator!

McBride's daughters are currently pursuing dreams of their own: Delaney is a massage therapist, personal chef and doula, Emma is trying her hand at acting and Ava is in her junior year of high school.

"They are the most amazing kids," says McBride. "Right now, all three of them are at home with us in Nashville, and when we can all get together, it's so special."

As McBride knows firsthand, you never really stop needing your parents.

"I recently went back and read my old journals from when I was 21. I was surprised at how attached I was to my parents, yet I was married, on my own and very independent," she says. "It's given me more of an understanding of my own girls, because I've got a 23-year-old who is still very attached to us. I was the same way, even though I thought I wasn't."

"My mom, Jeanne, died last year, but there are still times when I think, 'I need to call her,' and then I realize I can't," she continues. "I still talk to my dad, Daryl, every day on the phone."

Even after three decades of stardom, McBride — who will next kick off her Joy of Christmas tour on Nov. 26 — says she's most proud of her life at home with John and their three daughters.

"Since the start of my career, I only wanted two things: respect and longevity," she says. "So to still be doing this — this many years later — and to have a good marriage and well-adjusted kids, is success to me."

For all the details on Martina McBride, pick up the latest issue of PEOPLE, on newsstands everywhere Friday.