Macaulay Culkin ensures he regularly tells his children he is "proud" of them - because he "never got the 'p' word" growing up

Speaking on YouTube show Mythical Kitchen, Macaulay - who pointed out a generational trauma can "haunt" someone - said: "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, and that's 'proud.'

"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.' "

Macaulay has been open about suffering a difficult relationship with his own father, Christopher "Kit" Culkin, but the My Girl actor feels "proud" of himself for being able to "provide" for his family.

And he has credited his partner, actress Brenda, 37, for helping him to be a "better father".

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."

Earlier this year, Macaulay told how he hadn't spoken to his dad in "30-something years", and in November the star said his dad deserves to "die alone".

He told Deadline: "He had seven beautiful kids and now he's got five beautiful grandkids. None of them want anything to do with him. Nothing. As far as I know.

"Listen, if my siblings want to have their relationship with him, they can. Whatever. I have these beautiful kids at home, and I don't want his sins being washed on my kids.

"That's not the way that I do business, and that's why he needed to go over... there.

"And he's going to sit there and he's going to probably die alone and I'm going to go like, 'Yeah, that's what you deserve.' "