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19 Spot-On Parenting Quotes From Mila Kunis

19 Spot-On Parenting Quotes From Mila Kunis
Actress Mila Kunis shares her honest thoughts on motherhood.
NBC via Getty Images
Actress Mila Kunis shares her honest thoughts on motherhood.

Mila Kunis doesn’t hesitate to get real about parenting.

The actress and her husband, Ashton Kutcher, have two children, 3-year-old Wyatt and 1-year-old Dimitri. Over the years, she’s spoken openly about raising her son and daughter: from pregnancy to breastfeeding to parenting fails.

In honor of her birthday, we’ve rounded up 19 honest quotes about motherhood from Kunis. Enjoy!

On Not Raising Assholes

“The one topic of conversation we had even prior to ever having kids was always, ‘How do you raise a child to not be an asshole?’ It’s so important because we both came from pretty solid poverty backgrounds and grew up very poor and are very much self-made and are very aware of what a dollar is worth. ... It’s a matter of teaching them from a very early age that, you know, ‘Mommy and Daddy may have a dollar, but you’re poor. You are very poor, you have nothing. Mommy and Daddy have a bank account.’”

On Breastfeeding In Public

“I support every woman’s choice in what she wants to do and whatever makes them happy, but for me, I did nurse my child and I literally breastfed everywhere. There were many times where I didn’t bring a cover with me, and so I just did it in a restaurant, in the subway, in the park, at airports, and in planes. Why did I do it in public? Because I had to feed my child. She’s hungry. I need to feed her whether it’s out of a bottle or out of my boob no matter where I was.”

On Being A Working Mom

I felt like I was failing as a mother because I wasn’t there for her every minute of the day. It took me a little while to realize that I was a better mom going back to work because when I was with her, I was present 100 percent. If you are with your kid and you are present, and you are there and you’re engaged, and you care, then you’re a great mom.”

On The First vs. The Second Pregnancy

“With the first one, I was on the app every day, like, ‘What food size is my baby?’ It was like, ‘It’s the size of a grape. It’s the size of an avocado.’ The other day, someone asked how far along I was. I was like, ‘I have no idea. I can tell you when I’m due, and then do the math afterward.’ For the first one, I could tell you precisely what she was developing, what stage it was. The second one, I’m running after a toddler, or working, so I’m like, ‘Oh, that’s right: I’m pregnant.’”

On Breastfeeding Shamers

“It took us a little back because people actually looked at us in a shameful [way], and we were like, ‘Oh my God,’ because it’s so not a sexual act. It didn’t matter to me what other people thought. That’s what I chose to do, but I think it’s unfortunate that people are so hard on women who choose to do it and do it in public. In the States and in our culture, we sexualize the breast so much that there’s an aspect of it that people just don’t know how to wrap their head around the idea of showing your breast in public. But I respect the opinions on both sides. If it’s not for you, don’t look.”

Kunis arrives at the 2018 Billboard Music Awards in Las Vegas.
Steve Marcus/Reuters
Kunis arrives at the 2018 Billboard Music Awards in Las Vegas.

On Competition Between Mothers

“It’s the competitive energy that is so destructive. It’s just like you said — we’re all in it together. You only are a mommy in this way for such a brief amount of time anyway that you don’t wanna look back and be like, ‘Why did I care about that stupid nonsense?’”

On How Parenting Changes Everything

“Everything is different. From the fact that you’re so happy when you get six hours of sleep to the idea of being responsible for this incredible, living breathing little human being that you can’t believe is yours.”

On Saying ‘We’re Pregnant’

“Stop saying, ‘We’re pregnant.’ You’re not pregnant! Do you have to squeeze a watermelon-sized person out of your lady-hole? No. Are you crying alone in your car listening to a stupid Bette Midler song? No. When you wake up and throw up, is it because you’re nurturing a human life? No. It’s because you had too many shots of tequila. Do you know how many shots of tequila we had? None. Because we can’t have shots of tequila. We can’t have anything, because we’ve got your little love goblin growing inside of us. All you did was roll over and fall asleep.”

On Moments Of Panic

“I think people like to know they’re not alone. I think that the second you’re like, ‘Oh wait’ and that you can put humor at it, and it’s something that you can make light of. I think before my parents were raising my brother and I, everything had to go perfectly. ... Nowadays, if shit’s going wrong and I call my best friend and I’m like, ‘I don’t know, this color is coming out of her nose and I’m pretty sure she’s dying.’ And it’s OK to do that now, but I don’t know if it necessarily was OK before.”

On Her Daughter’s Fearlessness

“Children are fucking crazy. They’re also suicidal. Like, at the park, certain jungle gyms have an opening for older kids to jump out of. She’s 19 months; she can’t jump. She just walks off it as if she’s on a pirate ship.”

On Pregnancy Cravings

“Yes, I mean I’m very stereotypical. I eat sauerkraut all day long. This is the worst craving to have because sauerkraut smells and every time we open up the jar it just reeks in the whole kitchen. It’s not like ice cream where everything smells lovely and floral.”

On Striving For Perfection

“It’s so taboo to be like, ‘I feel like I’m not perfect.’ You just have to know you’re doing the best you can, and that’s more than enough. I know I’m the best mom Wyatt’s ever had, and I’m the best mom for her.”

Ashton Kutcher (left) and Mila Kunis attend the 2018 Breakthrough Prize at NASA Ames Research Center in December 2017 in Mountain View, California.
Jesse Grant via Getty Images
Ashton Kutcher (left) and Mila Kunis attend the 2018 Breakthrough Prize at NASA Ames Research Center in December 2017 in Mountain View, California.

On A Parent’s Love

“I thought that I could not have greater love than the love for my husband. This is not to be cheesy, but I literally was like this must be the greatest love a human being can have and we both felt that about each other. Then, we had Wyatt and we were like, ‘Whoa!’”

On Life Before And After Kids

We used to be like, ‘What’s the coolest club?’ And [now] I’m like, ‘Let me tell you about the zoo in Atlanta and the bouncy house.’ There’s not one kid activity that I haven’t done yet with my child!”

On Losing A Sense Of Structure

“I was always so structured in my life in a certain way, and having a kid made me be like, ‘OK let’s just see what happens.’ You just have to go with it.”

On The First Months

“I love the fact that the first three months, she and I were up every night. I figured her out and she figured me out and she now sleeps in her own crib in her own room. I will never have that time again so, for me, it was a really nice three months.”

On Bodily Changes

“I don’t know how to deal with them because I’ve never had them and so I’d always dress for a flat-chested girl, and all of a sudden I’m busty, and I’m like, ‘Whoa! Check it out.’ This is amazing to me. It’s like a whole new world. ... First of all, I needed to start wearing bras. That was a whole new experiment for me. I was like, ‘What are these things that people wear?’ Now I have to.”

On Raising A Jokester

“She’ll pretend to go in for a kiss and then be like, ‘No no no no’ and start laughing and running away. I don’t know where she got that. I never did that to her. All of a sudden she fully learned the art of a fake out. I feel like my husband is a little bit of a jokester so maybe that’s something where it’s his personality coming through.”

On Parenting Realizations

I have a whole other appreciation for what my mom does and did and how she truly feels about my brother and I. I don’t think that’s something I ever could have understood until I had kids of my own.”

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