"I had to let go of certain things because I wanted to spend time with my kids,” the 'Running Point' star tells PEOPLE
Credit: Amy Sussman/Getty (2)
NEED TO KNOW
- Brenda Song tells PEOPLE how parenting her two sons with Macaulay Culkin shifted her perspective on work-life balance
- She explains that she and Culkin follow a “two-week rule” to prioritize family time and reveals they “don’t have a traditional nanny”
- Song also opens up about how she manages quality time in her relationship with Culkin amid their busy schedules
Brenda Song says her most important role in life is being a mother, but that doesn’t mean it’s easy.
The Running Point star, 38, recently caught up with PEOPLE in an exclusive conversation about her career, her relationship with fiancé Macaulay Culkin and parenting their two sons, Dakota, 5, and Carson, 3.
As someone who grew up in the entertainment industry, Song says it wasn’t until she had kids that her perspective on work-life balance changed.
“I really had to be really intentional about it when kids came along,” she explains. “Mac and I always had a two-week rule. We never are away for more than two weeks, but kids came along and it became very different, because now we're balancing so many other things. For me, I had to learn to prioritize what's important to me, and that's time with my kids. So I had to go, ‘Brenda, you can't spend an hour every night when everyone goes to sleep and clean the house. You need sleep.’”
“I had to let go of certain things because I wanted to spend time with my kids,” she continues, noting that she and Culkin, 45, “always try to be there” for the boys. “So pick-up and drop-off, it's always one of us. We try, and we're very, very fortunate to be in a position where we've never had an issue where one of us isn't at home with the kids.”
Credit: Amy Sussman/Getty
Song also reveals that she and the Fallout actor “don’t have a traditional nanny” either, thanks to her mom and dad.
“My mom literally looked at me and was like, ‘If you get a nanny, I will be insulted,’” the actress says with a laugh. “So that really also helps alleviate the mom guilt. I feel so fortunate because that is such a blessing to be able to have my parents so present in my kids' lives, because they're the best.”
While she and Culkin continue to apply their “two-week rule,” she admits that being away at all has become more of a challenge as their kids get older.
“It’s harder and easier at the same time,” she says. “We can FaceTime, they understand a little bit more, but because they understand, they also can be more vocal about you not being home. [There is] the guilt that that also introduces, but then also explaining to them why their parents have to work.”
Dakota and Carson are still too young to fully understand their parents’ jobs, but Song says she and Culkin have begun introducing them to some of their work.
“They just watched Home Alone this past year for the first time,” she reveals of Culkin’s 1990 film. “That is not their dad. They do not understand. Even when Mac will secretly play them The Suite Life when I'm not home, they don't get it. They don't understand. I think they think it's a home video, but then they don't understand that it’s not really Mama. They're just confused.”
Credit: John Shearer/FilmMagic
“I think it's just about being transparent, being open and honest and prioritizing,” Song adds. “What I'm trying to learn now is making time for myself, because that's the time that I think, as a working woman, a working mom, it's just really hard. I used to always tell my mom that she couldn't take care of us unless she took care of herself, and now that I'm in that position, I'm like, ‘I don't need to take care of myself. I'm fine.’”
Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.
When it comes to her relationship with Culkin, Song says they spend quality time together at the end of the day when they get in bed after putting their kids to sleep. Whether they play a round of Mario Kart, watch a show or catch each other up on life, it is a routine they make sure to maintain.
“I think that's really important, finding connection with your partner, because that's a part of who you are. You can't lose yourself,” Song says. “Especially with our work schedules. At the end of the day when it's all said and done and I'm on my deathbed, I don't think that the thing I'm going to say is, ‘Oh, I can't believe I forgot to do that phone interview.’ It's going to be about time with my family.”
“I have to remind myself of that, because work is so important to me,” she continues.
Running Point season 2 is on Netflix April 23.
Read the full article here
