Macaulay Culkin reflects on how fatherhood healed his childhood trauma

Macaulay Culkin reflected on how his own painful childhood experience impacted his parenting.

The Home Alone star, who had a strained relationship with his own father, opened up about his approach to fatherhood as a parent to two sons Dakota, 4, and Carson, 3.

The actor admitted that a trauma like the one he experienced could “haunt” a person. However, with the help of his fiancé, Brenda Song, he became a “better father” and a “better person.”

During his latest appearance on the Mythical Kitchen, Culkin shared details on how he treats his children.

“There’s, there’s a word that I use in my household ’cause it’s something that I didn’t really hear enough of when I was a kid, and that’s ‘proud’,” he said.

The Riche Rich actor added, “Man, I’m proud of my kids. You know, I go out there, I’d be like ‘the number one movie in America,’ and stuff like that. But I never got the ‘p’ word.”

Sharing his parenting experience on how he helps his kids beat their stage fright, Culkin said that one of his kids does recitals, which he is really excited about.

“He’s gonna play a bug, and he’s like, ‘I’m the bug who gets the egg.’ And as soon as that curtain opens, he freezes, and he cries, and he runs off stage,” he said.

The My Girl star said that then he would go and scoop him up in his arms telling his son that he is so proud of him. 

“I would say, “You were so brave to go out there like that. Like you did that. There are so many people, and I love your costume. I’m proud of you, proud of you, proud of you,’” he said.

Despite of never hearing those from his own father, Culkin admitted that he feels “proud” of himself that he’s able to provide for his family in the “right kind of way.”

Culkin and Song got engaged in January 2022, with marriage yet to be planned.