Josh Peck with his infant son Shai Peck in April 2023; Josh Peck with his toddler son Max Peck in December 2021.Photo:Josh Peck Instagram
Josh Peck Instagram
Josh Peckgained fame for portraying half of the brother duo inDrake & Josh, but in real life, he is now a loving father.
After welcoming Max and Shai, Josh toldDistractifythat he became less selfish and solely focused on his career, and instead channeled that love into his children.
Josh Peck with his kids Max and Shai in January 2023.Josh Peck Instagram
“Until you have a child, hopefully, you meet someone great and you grow together and you become a little less selfish, but I never thought I would quite be able to have the level of love and joy [of] putting someone before me,” he told the outlet in June 2023.
He continued, “I feel with these two kids of ours, the most annoying part is that every trope every saying every slogan, every colloquialism becomes true. And the way I used to shudder when I would hear my mom say, ‘It is a love like you will never know.’ My Jewish mother was quite right.”
Max Milo Peck, 6
Josh Peck with his son Max Peck in Stanley Park in September 2020.Josh Peck Instagram
Josh and O’Brien’s first child, Max, was born on Dec. 29, 2018. Josh announced his birth with a simplepost on Instagramof his newborn swaddled in the hospital blanket and hat, captioning it with his name.
When Max was an infant, O’Brien struggled to produce enough milk to breastfeed him, she told PEOPLE in April 2023.
“I really had every intention of breastfeedingwhen we had Max, and then I quickly realized that I never produced enough milk,” she said. “I kind of drove myself crazy for a few weeks, trying to really force it, and then we went to formula and had to try out a bunch of different ones until we found the right fit.”
The couple took time to find their balance in parenting, but now, they find that their styles work well together.
“Josh is really hands-on and really helpful, which I’m very thankful for, and he and Max have kind of a very similar energy to them,” she explained. “For me, I’m definitely a little bit more relaxed and calm. I think it’s just a good balance of our different strengths.”
From an early age, Josh also took the lead on raising Max in the Jewish faith, celebrating holidays likeHanukkahandPassovertogether. When he was just 3 months old, Josh also dressed his infant son up as achick for Purim.
After max’s 5th birthday, O’Brien told PEOPLE he was developing new interests.
“So now at night, when we’re reading books, he’s reading them to me instead of me reading them to him, which is a wild thing,” she said. “He’s really gotten into puzzles lately. His mind is always working.”
As for whether he’d introduced Max to his work yet, Josh toldMorning Honeyin November 2023 that he was starting to, but Max was still too young to fully understand his fame.
“My son has seen a few things I’ve done,” theOppenheimeractor said. “He thinks it’s just very well-shot home movies. I am not sure he can resonate what a legend his father is quite yet!”
Shai Miller Peck, 2
Josh Peck with his look-a-like son Shai Peck in March 2023.Josh Peck Instagram
Shai was born four months later on Oct. 14, 2022. Josh announced his birth with a sweet photo onInstagramof Max sitting on a bed while his little brother slept next to him, once again captioning the post with his full name.
Shai quickly proved to be a poor sleeper, with Josh joking that he had a “vendetta against sleep” in oneInstagrampost. The infant’s parents chose to rotate who would get up to feed him when he woke up in the night, leading to difficult evenings for both.
“We were shifters,” Josh told Distractify. “And so from one to six [in the morning], I would just go crash in the guest room just because I would have work or something, just to get a little bit of quiet.”
“And after a while, our son would wake up at 6 and come join me to watch, you know, likeSesame Streetor some cartoon in our guest room,” he continued. “He finally said, ‘I really like that this is your room, Dad.’ ”
Though Josh and O’Brien were initially worried about how Max would adjust to having a sibling after being an only child for four years, theHow I Met Your Fatheractor said the little boy couldn’t love his brother more.
“My son is a great older brother. He runs into his room as soon as he gets home from school and wants to tell me about his day and give me hugs,” he told Morning Honey.
He added that when O’Brien was planning to go to northern California and Josh was to stay home with the kids, O’Brien asked Max if he wanted to tag along, to which he replied, “If Shai is not coming, I don’t want to go!”
Raising young kids has brought the fun of holidays back for Josh, who said celebrating Christmas Eve and Halloween are “some of the best nights” for family and kids.
“When you grow up, you’re over it, and then you have children and get to enjoy all these new things through their eyes,” he said. “It’s fun to see them enjoy it and it brings the family together.”
Josh Peck and Paige O’Brien in 2025.Josh Peck / Instagram
In February 2025, Peck and O’Brien announced that they are currently expecting their third child together.
source: people.com
