Macaulay Culkin bombards his kids with 'one powerful word' — something he never heard once from his parents

The "Home Alone" star, Macaulay Culkin, attained massive fame at a very young age. While the whole world saw him as a role model, his parents apparently never appreciated him; in fact, he accused his dad of financial exploitation and abuse. Macaulay's relationship with his father, Kit Culkin, had become so toxic that he eventually cut all ties with him. However, the actor didn't throw his emotional baggage onto his next generation; rather, he embarked on a mission to do everything for his kids that he once craved while growing up in an abusive household. In a recent interview with Josh Scherer for an episode of "Mythical Kitchen," Macaulay opened up about how he never shies away from saying the "P-word" to his kids — something he never heard once from his parents. The episode was released on YouTube on December 16.

Macaulay shares two sons with actress Brenda Song and finally seems to be in a happy family space. The actor said he consciously appreciates his kids more often because that's something he craved as a child. "There's a word that I use in my household, because it's something that I didn't really hear enough when I was a kid, and that's 'proud,'" Macaulay told Scherer. He explained how, despite achieving so much success, he never heard the "P-word" while he was growing up. However, it's not something he wants to transfer to his kids. So, every time they attempt something new, and even if they fail, Macaulay never stops himself from acknowledging their efforts. "I go and scoop him up, and the first thing out of my mouth is, 'Man, I am so proud of you,'" he said. The actor also confessed that he takes immense pride in being able to provide emotional support and love to his family in the right way. 

Gentle and positive parenting is always beneficial for the child. In fact, a research paper titled "Parental Praise Correlates with Posterior Insular Cortex Gray Matter Volume in Children and Adolescents," says that one specific behavior that benefits the kids is "parental praise." Verbal encouragement or acknowledging their efforts is found to motivate kids and foster emotional development and personality. Moreover, researchers found that parental praise positively influences kids' conscientiousness and ability to accept new ideas. Not only that, but positive parenting behavior also affects brain development, according to research. 

Meanwhile, people loved how the "Richie Rich" actor broke through generational trauma and decided to be the dad he never had while growing up; for instance, u/simracingsam commented, "That's a man who's clearly gone through the therapy he needed to overcome his awful childhood and is making sure he does right by his kids. So happy for him."

u/dplans455 shared, "This hits so hard. My dad was the same; never said he was proud of me. I was a D1 baseball player. All through my childhood it was never, 'I'm proud of you.' It was always,'You can do better.' I could go 4 for 5 with 2 home runs and 2 singles. Throughout the entire car ride home, the focus would only ever be on the one at-bat where I made an out. It was so frustrating as a kid. When I got married... no pride. When I got my first promotion... no pride. When I had kids... no pride. Nothing. I make sure to tell my kids all the time how proud I am of them."

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