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Mindy Kaling describes the horror of traveling with a toddler and we can relate

In recounting a recent plane trip with the kids, she explained that “a one and a half year old for six hours on a plane” was “a lot.”
Warner Bros. Discovery Upfront 2022 - Show
Mindy Kaling speaks during the Warner Bros. Discovery Upfront 2022 show on May 18, 2022 in New York City.Dimitrios Kambouris / Getty Images for Warner Bros. Discovery
/ Source: TODAY

Sitting in a stunning screening room at a fancy hotel in West Hollywood, it's hard to imagine actor and showrunner Mindy Kaling is anything but perfectly polished.

Dressed in a gorgeous floral black dress and surrounded by her team, Kaling laughed politely at my jokes and even, humble brag, remembered we've met before — or at least, pretended to remember, which I will also consider a win.

But when she starts talking about her children, Katherine, 4, and Spencer, 1, it's clear she's like any other mom.

In recounting a recent trip with the kids to the East Coast in early June to visit her family, she explained that flying with "a one and a half year old for six hours on a plane" had been "a lot."

"I was like, 'I'm not doing this again. My son will not see outside of the greater Los Angeles area for about three more years,'" she laughed, adding she'll probably just stay home in Malibu and go to the beach this summer.

She explained Spencer is just "a very social person" and that she figures both her kids will likely have big personalities.

"He's not unhappy a lot of the time, but he will come up to you — like, if you're on a plane, he'll come up and put his finger in your soup," she quipped. "He doesn't have boundaries. But he's cute and he's friendly. But that's a lot for six hours on a plane."

Kaling said he won't sleep on the plane and also isn't very interested in watching videos on the iPad.

"He just wants a lot of interactions. Exhausting, " she laughed.

Kaling spoke with TODAY at a Los Angeles event sponsored by Zelle. She is promoting the company's summer cash giveaway.

Later, in a panel with the company's chief marketing officer, Melissa Lowry, Kaling joked about her daughter's screen time.

"I will say it's funny with the iPads because I think there's like a public persona where you're like, 'They get 15 minutes of a TV a day, I try not to keep them on screens.' And then there's the version of me at home where my daughter is watching six movies in a row on day six of eating sour straws," she laughed. "But don't tell anyone that's how I raise my children!"