“Nakakatakot thinking about it. Nakakatakot talaga.

“You really have to just refocus on the simple things in life.

“And those are the things we’ll learn, so like playing, like us, outdoor play. I do a lot of activities with them, like cooking.

“With Tili, we do reading, we create stories together.”

Letting The CHILD Enjoy

Lastly, Solenn allows her daughters to explore their creativity without imposing strict rules.

She believes in fostering a relaxed environment, saying she has learned “not [to] always say no.”

The celebrity mom underlines, “Let kids just be.”

She has observed that when she’s working, Tili gets creative on her own.

“She’ll bring a storybook with her or she creates her own imaginary play. I feel like it’s really important to just let them be.”

When painting, for instance, Solenn lets the two little girls choose their own colors.

“I feel like they’re really experimenting. So we paint every day, whether it be on our bodies or on the canvas.

“This is one of their favorite things to do. They also get dirty with the paint.”

This creative freedom, especially in Tili’s case, teaches her focus and problem-solving skills.

For Solenn, parenting isn’t about discovering a grand secret—it’s about consistency.

“There’s no secret. There’s no breakthrough revelation. It’s just that you need to do daily activities with your children.”

HOW IMPORTANT ARE MILESTONES in a child’s life

Dr. Ed Posecion, a pediatrician and guest speaker at the Promil Gifted Talks, delves into the key developmental milestones, which include: (1) sensory and motor skills, (2) social and emotional growth, and (3) language and cognition.

He says, “It’s not difficult to look at the milestone. You just have to train your eye to it.

“For example, when you go to your pediatrician, you’re asked if the newborn has a head hold, if he’s smiling…

“By the time he’s about four months, the pediatrician will ask you, ‘Is he able to hold his head?’

“And then when he’s six months old, ‘Is he able to sit?’

“And then next is rollover, and so on and so forth.

“Those are questions that allow the pediatrician to determine whether motor-wise, in a way, he is within the milestones, he is progressing properly.”

While it easy to keep track of a child’s physical growth, another speaker, Dr. Nora Schneider, Wyeth Nutrition’s head of clinical research, emphasizes the need to pay special attention to mental and emotional development.

She explains, “The sequence is really defined by the readiness of the brain—what it is ready to learn.

“We have certain connections that build early on that are linked to sensory, like hearing, vision, and touch.

“And that’s the most active period early on where those senses develop.

“This is followed by a wave of connections that prepare the brain for learning language. So this comes a little later.

“And those things have to be in place before the next wave of connections in the brain.”

Dr. Ed reiterates that spending time with children contributes significantly to their brain development.

“It’s all a process of developing. And the stronger the foundation, the better.

“Think of a house—bago mo gawin yung bubong, gagawin mo muna yung walls niya, yung floor niya. You have to build a strong house.

“The same goes for the brain. It should have very strong foundations.

“And the foundation of the brain starts in the first 1,000 days.

“The first two years of life are crucial—from pregnancy to around three years old.

“So pag may bagyo, kailangan matibay yung bahay mo.

“In that way, their foundations are strong.

“They’ll do very well in school, in life, and in other aspects if their foundations are strong.”

For Solenn, the pandemic turns out to be a blessing in disguise.

“We were stuck at home, and I was there for most of their milestones. I had the time to really be present in their life.”