Known mostly for the villainous characters she portrays on television, it was refreshing to see actress and host Gladys Reyes talk candidly and lovingly about her three children--Gian-Christopher, 8; Aquisha, 5; and Grant-Carlin, 3--with husband Cristopher Roxas.
"As mothers, we want our children to grow up to be good people. Children will be children, so we should be there to teach them values and good manners every chance we get. That's my role as mom, to help them become the best persons they can be,” Gladys says in an interview with the Inquirer.
She feels a huge amount of fulfillment every time people would comment on how well-behaved her children her.
While she wouldn't necessarily call herself a disciplinarian, she says a little spanking on the bottom shouldn't hurt, if done out of love. Not that she spanks her children
frequently or without reason, they are after all kids raised in a
loving and God-fearing family. But if the need to do so arises,
Gladys makes it a point to explain why they got a spanking so the kids
understand that the gesture was for their own good.
Gladys seems to be a patient mom. "Remind, remind, remind," is what she does when it comes to teaching Filipino values to her children, such as paying respects to
elders, especially their grandparents, with pagmamano and
saying “po” and “opo.”
She is very hands-on with her children
despite her ridiculously busy schedule (she stars in GMA 7's soap
“Kambal Sirena” and variety show “Basta Everyday Happy” which starts airing tomorrow; an
MTRCB board member; and producer of talk show “MOMents” among
others).
With everything she does, it's
remarkable how Gladys manages to attend to her children's needs. She
even has time to play patintero and luksong baka with
them.
“It's these moments that the kids
will remember when they grow up. If there's one thing I learned from
my mom, it was that she was always present when we were growing up.
All my three children were breastfed, too,” says the actress.
Aside from going on vacation trips when
their schedules permit, another bonding moment for the family is when
they go to church. As members of Iglesia Ni Kristo, Gladys brings her
children to Kids Church on Sundays.
It was a special celebration of
Mother's Day this year for the family. Not only is Gladys's family
healthy and happy, her own mom, who recently celebrated her 60th
birthday, has seen her cancer go in remission. The whole family went
to a resort in Batangas to celebrate.
Gladys says: “Prayers. Prayers.
Prayers. That's what gets me through all the things I need to do in a
day. Despite my petite frame, and about 4 hours of sleep at night, I
thank God for giving me the energy to fulfill all my obligations to
my children, my husband and parents, and everyone in the world who
matter to me.”
*** This article appears on the Mother's Day special pages of the Philippine Daily Inquirer today, May 11, 2014. It has been edited for TWIST. To read the whole, unedited story, buy today's issue or subscribe online. Enjoy! :) ***
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