Mila Kunis has revealed her steadfast approach to parenting, emphasizing that she always follows her “one-movie-a-year” guideline to prioritize time with her and Ashton Kutcher’s children, Wyatt and Dimitri. This Mila Kunis parenting rule highlights how both actors coordinate their work schedules to ensure family stability and presence at their Los Angeles home.
Balancing Hollywood and Family Life
The Friends With Benefits actress spoke candidly about her family’s approach to career and parenting. She and her husband Ashton Kutcher have built a routine that centers their roles as parents, making intentional decisions about their work:
“Ash and I never work at the same time,”
Mila told Extra in an interview published Nov. 21.
“Neither one of us works, when the kids are in school, out of town.”
– Mila Kunis, Actor
This structure allows both Mila and Ashton to avoid being away from their children due to overlapping work commitments. However, Mila noted that she may take on more than one film a year if the work is based in Los Angeles, ensuring proximity to her family. If a project requires travel, it is only considered during the kids’ summer break so they can be together abroad.
Despite the rare exceptions, Mila stands firm on the essential rule—they never leave their children without the presence of at least one parent. She explained,
“We tag team in and out, but neither one of us is ever absent.”
– Mila Kunis, Actor
She recognizes the privilege in being able to make such choices:
“It’s a luxury, and I’m really fortunate,”
she stated, concluding,
“so I don’t take that for granted either.”
– Mila Kunis, Actor
Prioritizing Connection in Marriage and Parenting
For Mila Kunis and Ashton Kutcher, their approach to parenting extends beyond logistics. Mila attributes their marital strength to their shared attitude and humor, noting that laughter and a mutual youthful spirit keep their bond strong:
“I still feel like we’re very young and we feel very young,”
Mila told E! News last year.
“I think that’s where the spark is.”
– Mila Kunis, Actor
The couple’s lightheartedness and gratitude for their family life is echoed by Ashton, who expressed,
“as a father and a husband.”
– Ashton Kutcher, Actor
He reflected on the gratitude he feels for their family:
“I love spending time with my kids. I love my wife so much. I’m the most fortunate human being that I know, and I could take all my problems, put them in the middle of the room with everybody else on the planet’s problems, and I’d go get mine back because I love my problems and I love my joys. I wouldn’t give it up for a minute.”
– Ashton Kutcher, Actor
Reflecting on Parenting Mistakes and Growth
Mila Kunis is quick to acknowledge imperfection and the importance of honesty with her children. She previously shared with People her experience of apologizing to her daughter for overreacting during a difficult moment:
“The only thing I’ve ever felt guilty about, and I actually apologized to my 3-year-old, is when I overreact,”
she recalled.
“I’ll walk away, and I’ll come back, and I’ll sit her down and I’m like, ‘I’m really sorry. Mommy overreacted. Do you forgive me?’ And she’s like, ‘Yeah, I forgive you.’ Whether she understands what just happened or not, I want her to know that I’m as flawed as she is.”
– Mila Kunis, Actor
Mila emphasizes that striving for perfection should not define parenthood:
“It’s so taboo to be like, ‘I feel like I’m not perfect,’”
she explained in a conversation with A Plus.
“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.”
– Mila Kunis, Actor
Acknowledging the Need for a Break
During the peak of the pandemic, Mila and Ashton starred in a Super Bowl commercial to briefly step away from the routines of parenting.
“It was in the peak of the pandemic, it made no sense logically,”
Kunis explained.
“I was dying to get out of the house.”
– Mila Kunis, Actor
She joked about the relief she felt:
“I got two days off from my kids, I’m a horrible mom!”
– Mila Kunis, Actor
Lessons Learned From Parenting Missteps
Sharing parenting truths on The Ellen DeGeneres Show, Mila opened up about a particular incident at her daughter’s preschool where she advised her child to stand up to a bully:
“Well, here’s a story that’s about to get me in trouble,”
Kunis said.
“There was a little kid in my kids’ preschool that wasn’t very kind and pushed my daughter.”
– Mila Kunis, Actor
She told Wyatt,
“’Push her back next time. You push her back, and you say, ‘No, thank you,’ and you walk away,”
she shared. “And I turned around,” Mila continued,
“I was like, ‘Don’t push ’em off of a ladder or off a swing or off of a slide, but on the ground, even Steven? You push ’em back.’ I’d say that that’s a parenting fail.”
– Mila Kunis, Actor
Family Habits and Everyday Realities
Mila and Ashton’s openness extends to their daily routines, even discussing their family’s relaxed bathing habits on the Armchair Expert podcast.
“When I had children, I also didn’t wash them every day,”
Mila said.
“I wasn’t the parent that bathed my newborns—ever.”
– Mila Kunis, Actor
Ashton added,
“Here’s the thing—if you can see the dirt on ’em, clean ’em. Otherwise, there’s no point.”
– Ashton Kutcher, Actor
Open-Door Policy at Home
Discussing home life, Mila shared that her family keeps an open-door rule—even for the bathroom.
“It’s just one of those where, for better or for worse, as a family and the kids have all kind of embodied bodily function as a very standard norm.”
– Mila Kunis, Actor
She admitted,
“I’d never thought that I would be the person that was able to go to the bathroom with the door open.”
– Mila Kunis, Actor
Parenting and Social Life Changes
Mila candidly recounted how socializing has transformed since having children.
“My girlfriends and I went out to dinner a month ago and I got home at 10:30 from a dinner and I had three penicillins which is a delicious, delicious beverage,”
Kunis told E! News in 2017.
“[I was] hammered. Three drinks, I am now a very cheap date.”
– Mila Kunis, Actor
She reflected on date nights with Ashton:
“No, because in the morning we still have kids,”
Mila joked.
“Your date night can’t be that wild because at 7 in the morning you still have, ‘Mama’ and you’re like, ‘What? I’m up.’”
– Mila Kunis, Actor
Embracing Humor and Playfulness
In her parenting approach, Mila values goofiness and authenticity at home.
“I think we’re silly at home. We’re very goofy parents when it comes to our children, but that don’t have skill,”
she said on the Teach Me Something New podcast.
“I think that’s just being idiots. I think we’re very comfortable with ourselves acting a fool at home, but maybe that comes from the idea of being comfortable in your own body, and in your own skin, and in your mind and not having a fear of making a fool of yourself.”
– Mila Kunis, Actor
That playful spirit extends to dressing up for her kids, even when it means putting aside her own preferences:
“This is what sucks about having a kid: They tell you what to do and you listen. Because you pick your battles, and you’re like, ‘Well, I guess this is not one of them,’”
she explained to Jimmy Kimmel in 2017.
“I was trying to convince my daughter, ‘Don’t you want to be Batman or Superman or something awesome?’ She’s like, ‘No, mom! I’m going to be Cinderella!’ I was like, ‘Eww! Gross! OK!’”
– Mila Kunis, Actor
Ultimately, Mila recalled,
“Guess what mama was? Mama was Elsa. I sucked it up, you guys. I had a blonde wig on and everything.”
– Mila Kunis, Actor
Understanding Children’s Independence
Mila credits her daughter’s personality as something unique to Wyatt, noting that parents can only guide so much.
“Another important thing to learn is that kids have a personality that has nothing to do with you,”
she explained to Glamour.
“I have a really sweet daughter. She wants to hug all the other kids. I didn’t teach her to be sweet. It has nothing to do with me. I’ve realized you can control only so much.”
– Mila Kunis, Actor
Unconditional Love and Strong Bonds
When discussing her children, Mila spoke about the depth of parenting love—even joking about its limits.
“If she murdered somebody in cold blood, I would love her,”
Kunis said to Ellen DeGeneres.
“I would be like, ‘That’s okay.’ It’s so weird, but when she was born, I was like, ‘This is the most incredible thing that’s ever happened.’”
– Mila Kunis, Actor
The Challenges of Returning to Work
After her daughter’s birth, Mila took a significant break from acting and found it emotionally difficult to leave her child for work. She admitted she cried upon returning to the set after her break, describing it as a strange and difficult experience for any mom.
Shifting Aspirations After Motherhood
During a Reddit AMA, Mila described becoming a parent as profoundly transformative:
“It is the most life-changing experience you can have, in my opinion. Everything changed. I am proud to be a stay-at-home mom. I have no desire to be in front of the camera. I find her to be the most challenging job I’ve had.”
– Mila Kunis, Actor
Fashion Challenges After Pregnancy
Mila has spoken about the realities of postpartum life, including the struggle to find comfortable clothing.
“Nothing fits in these dresses anymore.”
– Mila Kunis, Actor
Championing Support for Other Moms
Rejecting mommy-shaming, Mila urged other mothers not to compete or judge:
“It’s the competitive energy that is so destructive,”
she told PopSugar.
“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?’”
– Mila Kunis, Actor
Addressing Public Debate Around Breastfeeding
Mila has been transparent about her choice to breastfeed in public, noting cultural differences and public reactions.
“It didn’t matter to me what other people thought,”
Kunis explained to Vanity Fair in 2020.
“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.”
– Mila Kunis, Actor
Realism About Work-Life Balance
Mila Kunis dismisses the notion that it’s possible to maintain perfect balance in parenting and working.
“There’s no such thing as balance,”
Kunis told E! News at the premiere of Bad Moms in 2016. It doesn’t exist. – Mila Kunis, Actor
Holding Fast to the One-Movie Rule
Returning to her central commitment, Mila demonstrates devotion to her family by sticking to her redefined work limit, ensuring her children’s stability and constant presence of a parent at home:
“Ash and I never work at the same time,”
Mila told Extra in November 2025.
“Neither one of us works, when the kids are in school, out of town.”
– Mila Kunis, Actor
She summed up the rule, cementing the agreement:
“Neither one of us is ever absent.”
– Mila Kunis, Actor
This Mila Kunis parenting rule appears to be a guiding principle for their family, influencing daily decisions and long-term plans. With candor and humor, Mila continues to share her parenting journey, offering insight into the realities faced by working parents, the importance of flexibility, and the pursuit of genuine family connection.
