Brenda Song reveals how she is trying to get her children to 'understand' their heritage
Brenda Song is trying to get her children to "understand" their heritage.
The 37-year-old actress has Dakota, four, and two-year-old Carson with 'Home Alone' star Macaulay Culkin, and because she is of Thai and Hmong descent, she is making a point of introducing Hmong language into small parts of everyday conversation.
She told PEOPLE: "My parents growing up would only speak to me and my brother in Hmong at home.
"I'm so incredibly grateful that my parents made such a point that we didn't lose our language or culture. We are a very tight-knit family. With my parents being refugees, I think it makes you stay even closer. Every single night, my kids say 'Good night' and 'I love you' in English and also Hmong.
'It's about helping them understand that this is a part of who they are. My parents, cousins and grandma are here all the time, so it's nice for my kids to experience both sides of their heritage. I don't want them to lose that because it's really easy, especially in LA."
The 'Last Showgirl' star recalled warning Macaulay that he had signed up to "date [her] entire family" once he had designed to become romantically involved with her.
She said: "I always like to joke that when I started dating my partner, I'm like, 'Oh, honey, you're not just dating me. You're dating my entire family.
"My mom literally has a room in our house. We also taught Mac how to speak some Hmong, and my grandma brought the boys and Mac traditional outfits, which is amazing."
Brenda shot to fame when she was cast as Paris Hilton parody London Tipton on the Disney Channel sitcom 'The Suite Life of Zack and Cody' in 2005, and claimed that the children's network was "ahead of its time" when it came to putting an actress of her descent in a starring role.
She said: "I truly believe Disney was ahead of the curve.
"They were allowing me to even audition for these roles and to star in my own projects without having this huge conversation behind it all. For kids to see themselves represented on TV in any way is so important. Sometimes you feel like, 'Oh, is there even a place for me?' I've struggled with that my entire career. Disney was trying to change that. They were mirroring what the world actually looks like."
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