SHORT TAKES : At 46, Mick Jagger ‘Behaves’

NEW YORK — At 46, the baddest boy of rock ‘n’ roll is also the father of four, ages 4-19.

“I get on fine with my kids,” said Mick Jagger. “I mean, when I tell them the dangers of drugs or sex, at least they know that I know what I’m talking about.”

Sometimes the father instinct reacts first, like last year when 18-year-old daughter Jade (by ex-wife Bianca) was expelled from private school for a late-night rendezvous with her boyfriend, who was later arrested on drug conspiracy charges.

“I was a little shocked for a moment,” Jagger said in an interview in this week’s US magazine.

“I just let it run its course and tried to be as fair-handed as I could be,” he said. “Jade had her rebellious moment, which was pretty quiet compared to mine, which lasted about 15 years!”

What’s post-rebellion life like? “I do a lot of boring exercises and I lay off the goodies,” said Jagger. “We behave--we have to at our age.”

Jagger got a $3-million advance to write his autobiography, the magazine said. But it seems an unlikely proposition.

“I can’t remember what happened,” the Rolling Stones’ lead singer said.