Macaulay Culkin recently shared his experiences as a father to his two sons with partner Brenda Song.
The former Home Alone star and the Suite Life of Zack and Cody alum are parents to Dakota, who is four years old, and Carson, who is three.
The pair began their relationship in 2017 after meeting on the set of the film Changeland, with Culkin proposing to Song five years later.
Culkin has previously been open about his challenging upbringing, despite his fame from the beloved holiday film Home Alone.
He has been distant from his father, Christopher ‘Kit’ Culkin, for three decades, along with his brothers, actors Kieran and Rory.
However, Culkin is committed to ensuring his own children do not experience similar hardships.
During a conversation with Josh Scherer on the Mythical Kitchen podcast on December 17, Culkin shared the significance of a particular word in his household.
“There’s a word that I use in my household because it’s something that I didn’t really hear enough of when I was a kid,” he explained. “And that’s ‘proud.'”
Despite his early success, the 45-year-old actor noted he rarely heard these affirmations during his childhood.
Illustrating how he expresses this feeling to his sons, Culkin described: “My kid, he does his recital. As soon as the curtain opens, he freezes, he cries and he runs off stage.
“So, I go and scoop him up and the first thing out of my mouth is, ‘Man, I’m so proud of you. You were so brave to go out there like that.'”
Reflecting on the impact of generational trauma, Culkin expressed his satisfaction with his parenting journey so far.
He said: “I’m proud of myself, that I can provide for my family in that kind of way.”
Culkin also praised Brenda Song for her role in their parenting partnership.
He added: “Brenda is such a good mother and she makes me want to be a better father, a better person.
“I see how good she is and I see how happy our kids are.”
Last year, Culkin offered further insights into his fatherhood experiences and his complex feelings about Father’s Day on Instagram.
“Since becoming a papa myself I’ve decided to reinvent the wheel,” he wrote.
“Other than getting an hour or two of extra sleep, I try to make the day a celebration of my boys more than me,” Culkin continued. “After all, they are the ones who made me a father (no offense to Brenda).”
“I try to do fun things for the boys on Father’s Day,” he concluded. “It’s a special day.”