Macaulay Culkin and Brenda Song use Home Alone to teach their children about stranger danger

Brenda, 37, told E! News: "They love all the hijinks and the traps and stuff. They have no real concept [of the danger]. My oldest gets it more than my younger son.

"I remember at the end going, 'See, your mama's here right next to you. Don't you want to give me a hug?' I didn't leave. I'm so terrible, but I feel like your children have to be a little scared. Fear goes a long way."

Home Alone sees eight-year-old Kevin McCallister (Macaulay) mistakenly left home alone by his parents, Kate McCallister (Catherine O'Hara) and Peter McCallister (John Heard) and defend his home against a pair of burglars, Harry Lyme (Joe Pesci) and Marv Murchins (Daniel Stern).

Brenda takes every opportunity to improve Dakota and Carson's safety skills.

The Operation Taco Gary's cast member explained: "I said, 'They're a stranger if you don't know their name.'

"I was like, 'It doesn't matter if they're someone's parents. If you don't know their name, or you've never seen them before at our house, they are a stranger.'

"Everywhere we go, I'm like, 'How do we get home?' Every building we go in, like, 'How did we get here? How do we get out?'

"I was teaching them exit signs."

And Macaulay - who got engaged to Brenda in January 2022 - has shared how he feels about his partner stressing the importance of safety to their children.

The Suite Life of Zack + Cody actress said: "My partner thinks I'm absolutely crazy about it."

In November 2025, Macaulay, 45, revealed that Dakota and Carson still do not realise that he played plucky youngster Kevin McCallister in Home Alone despite them watching it "often".

Macaulay - who said it is a "completely different experience" watching the movie his bundles of joy love - said at the 35th anniversary of the first Home Alone film at the Long Beach Terrace Theatre, as part of his A Nostalgic Night with Macaulay Culkin tour: "They have no idea that I'm Kevin.

"They're only three and four years old, [I want] to keep up that illusion as long as possible."

However, Dakota is starting to figure out that his dad played the leading role in the beloved film.

And Macaulay - who also played Kevin in the 1992 sequel Home Alone 2: Lost in New York - enjoys watching the original movie with Dakota and Carson.

He said: "Yeah, I do really love watching that movie with my boys."