Kaley Cuoco gets candid about first year of motherhood, parenting hacks

In a weekly series, USA TODAY’s The Essentials, celebrities share what fuels their lives.

Kaley Cuoco's and Tom Pelphrey's daughter Matilda turns 1 on March 30. And while we're unsure if the baby will be fêted with a "Big Bang," Cuoco is revealing her toolkit for surviving the first year of parenthood.

Yes, "it's survival," she admits, but not entirely a struggle. Last year's writers and actors strikes, which she acknowledges were "so difficult," provided Cuoco months at home with her firstborn.

Most recently, Cuoco has played an assassin for hire and wife and mom to a family who has no idea in the thriller/dark comedy "Role Play," streaming now on Amazon's Prime Video. But about 20 years ago, she played the teenage Bridget Hennessy, whose dad Paul (John Ritter) subscribed to "8 Simple Rules" for raising his three kids – Cuoco's list of parenting essentials for Year 1 is a little shorter.

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The parenting rule Kaley Cuoco says people will 'hate on me for'

One nonnegotiable parenting hack for Cuoco is screen time.

"Some people are going to hate on me for that. Don't care," she says. "My daughter's seen every Disney movie that there is at this point, and she loves it!"

"It's actually been cool to go back and watch some of these Disney movies," she says. "Some of them are so new that I've never even seen them. So I'm experiencing this whole thing with her."

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Kaley Cuoco's daughter with Tom Pelphrey can't get enough of this item

Matilda, who is teething at the time of the interview, is drawn to anything she can chew on, Cuoco says.

"She has every toy in the universe, but all she wants is the leather strap from my phone," Cuoco says referencing her Bandolier phone case. "So I ordered two leather straps on Amazon. I was like, 'Here.' So she chews on my leather strap. That's what she prefers. Doesn't want any of her toys, just wants my leather strap."

Avoid parenting advice, Kaley Cuoco says, 'because every kid is different'

Cuoco's expecting friends are turning to the actress for advice, but the wisdom she has for them might be unexpected.

"My advice is don't take any advice because every kid is different," she says. "What my kid needs is not what your kid needs, and our household is different than yours, and it's survival. You do what you can do.

"If she's going crazy, and I plop her on the couch to watch a Disney movie, like thank you, you get 10 minutes. That's great. To me, that's wonderful.

"There's maybe the next mom who doesn't want them to watch TV, and that's fine too. But that definitely works for us."

Dogs – and lots of them! – are key for Kaley Cuoco

Cuoco, who launched a company offering doggie supplements, accessories and apparel in the fall, has long been an advocate for animal rescue. Five dogs reside in the house, and a nearby ranch is home to more pooches, as well as horses, miniature horses, bunnies, cows, sheep, goats, chickens, ducks and a donkey.

"There's always a dog, watching her, laying on her, licking her," Cuoco says. "We live basically on a farm, so she's very entertained."

And while there’s a ruff-ruff here and a ruff-ruff there at the Cuoco-Pelphrey household, there won't be the pitter-patter of newborn footsteps for a while, if Cuoco has her wish. The actress, who was pregnant while filming "Role Play" and the first season of "Based on a True Story," released on Peacock in June, hopes to film the next installment without a bun in the oven.

"I have no idea what they're going to come up with for Season 2," she says of the series in which a married couple start a podcast with a serial killer. "All I know is I will not be pregnant, thank God. And I'll have a normal season of television, which I haven't had in a few years. So let's just hope I don't get pregnant by then. Let's all pray to God that I just stay the course and have a normal season."

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

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