Mindy Kaling is opening up about her experiences as a single mom — her favorite of many jobs.
Mindy has two children — 4-year-old daughter Katherine and 1-year-old son Spencer — whom she welcomed on her own. But the actress and producer doesn't mind parenting them alone.
In a new interview on Yahoo's So Mini Ways, the actress and producer said she definitely isn't looking for someone to help raise them. Mindy says that's her job.
Mindy seems to be rather in awe of her children. During the interview, she spoke to how much it fills her up to see her kids' energy.
“The biggest reward is seeing how happy my children are,” she said. “Like, they're just so full of joy and so funny. There's nothing jaded or cynical about them … they just love life."
That's definitely a great feeling as a mom, but Mindy is obviously doing a lot right. "For whatever reason, they have no fear in expressing themselves," she said. "You know, I was a really shy kind of repressed kid, [with] ‘be seen and not heard energy.’ And they're very heard.”
Mindy is perhaps referring to both cultural and generational differences in raising children. These days, parents understand the importance of letting kids express themselves. As an incredibly talented writer, actress, and producer, Mindy clearly values self-expression.
Mindy is absolutely following her gut when it comes to her kids. That much was true when she realized she was ready to have children, too.
“I had some professional things that I'd been hoping for not come through or had been delayed. And I just thought like, ‘What am I doing? Like, I just gotta have a kid,’” she said of deciding it was time. “I [didn’t] want to wake up and just never be able to, because more than writing and creating shows, my great dream in life was to become a mom, because of my relationship with my mom.”
Mindy lost her own mom in 2012 after a battle with pancreatic cancer. In 2017, Mindy told the world she was expecting. Then she announced her second pregnancy in 2020.
Of course, there are challenges to welcoming children on your own, but Mindy seems secure in her role as a single parent. “I think of myself as my kids' parent, and if I have someone that comes into my life down the line, that would be great, but I don't think it's their responsibility. It's mine,” she says.
“They're just, like, my blood; they're my responsibility. I'm not in a place now where I would necessarily want or need that from somebody else, to have someone else step in as a co-parent.”
It's a really refreshing perspective and may just encourage other women who are ready to have kids but don't have a partner to go for it on their own. All families look different — all that matters is love. Mindy, who is absolutely smitten with her kids, is certainly supplying plenty of that.
