Kapuso actress Marian Rivera-Dantes proudly talked about her children Zia and Sixto in a recent interview during her Tadhana media conference.
Due to this pandemic, Marian serves as the teacher of her daughter and according to her, it’s really hard. Eventually, Zia adjusted and she now enjoys being in an online class.
“Well to be honest nung una, talagang napakahirap mag-adjust. Kasi parang nag-aaral din ako dahil syempre yung anak ko nandoon may requirements, may kailangan, may offline worksheet. Hindi naman magagawa ng anak ko nang as easy lang yun dahil before, sa school nila syempre nandun yung mga teachers to assist. Ngayon ako ang teacher. Sabi ko nga kay Dong, o ayan pangarap ko kasing maging teacher, maging teacher na talaga ako, nang anak ko pa. So mahirap sya. Kahit si Zia nahirapan nung una pero nakakaproud kasi nakapag-adjust na sya at sobrang ineenjoy na nya ang online class,” proudly said Marian.
Because school is closed and there is no face-to-face contact, Marian tries to cheer up Zia by conducting zoom meetings with her classmates.
“So ang ginagawa ko na lang para hindi sya malungkot, kasi kilala ko naman yung mga nanay ng iba nyang classmate. So nag-zozoom sila, nagmimeeting-meeting sila, nagkakamustahan sila,” she said.
Furthermore, Marian is very proud of how her daughter is very adaptive to the current situation because of the pandemic. She compared her child’s quick adaptation with the “new normal” to that of adults’.
“…so nakaka-adjust at nakakatuwa na yung mga bata, talagang alam niyo yun, naiintindihan nila na ito ang mundo, ito ang kailangan nilang gawin. Sabi ko nga parang mas magaling pa sila mag-adjust sa mga matatanda,” said Marian.
Talking about comparisons, Marian compared her two children and how tenacious her son Sixto is. Raising a daughter and a son also made her realize that females are very different from males.
“Si Zia makulit, malikot. Pero yung lalaki ko, times three ang likot. Si Zia syempre babae, konting ano lang iiyak. Si Sixto kahit mabukulan na, kahit magtamblentong na, kahit mauntog na, kakamot lang ulo, hahawakan yung masakit, hindi umiiyak. Tapos sabi ko, ay! In fairness magkaiba talaga ang babae at lalaki,” said Marian while laughing.
When it comes to the struggles of raising children, Marian insisted that in her case, there are no problems raising Zia and Sixto. According to her, they are easy to please and are both sweet kids. The actress also trusts her daughter to take care of her baby brother since Zia is very responsible.
“…minsan nga nasa play pen kami hinahayaan ko si Zia na sya ang umintindi dun sa kapatid nya at sobra-sobrang… sabi ko nga kay Dong, grabe no? Kapag nakikita mo yung dalawa, yung magkapatid? Sobrang close at lambing nila sa isa’t isa. Tsaka si Sixto, pag gumigising sa umaga, ikikiss ako nyan, tapos gigisingin nya ate nya,” the actress said.
When asked if she will allow Zia to enter the world of acting, Marian said that if she wants to, she will support her daughter no matter what. However, the actress advised her daughter that education comes first. Because for Marian and husband Dingdong Dantes, education is very important.
“…depende yun sa kanya kung gugustuhin nya mag-artista… dati kasi syempre bata yan, hindi yan makakapagdecide para sa sarili niya. Pero this time, pag may ginagawa kami, tatanungin ko muna sya… at naniniwala ako na kailangan tinatanong ko rin yung emosyon niya. At ayoko kasing pinipilit yung anak ko sa mga bagay na ayaw nya. Dapat gusto nya yung ginagawa nya. At kung hindi mapigilan at susunod sa yapak bilang artista, eh isa lang naman ang sinasabi namin ng tatay nya sa kanya din… magtapos ka muna ng pag-aaral anak bago mo gawin ang mga gusto mong gawin. At syempre susuportahan namin sya 100% nasa likod nya kami kahit anong desisyon ang gustuhin nya,” replied Marian.
Following the possibility that Zia will also become an actress just like her mom, Marian told the press that her daughter loves singing. She also admitted that only a vocal coach can help Zia.
“Sabi ko nga sa kanya, anak kung gusto mo talaga maging singer, kailangan mo ng magtuturo sayo. Kasi anak sa akin wala kang aasahan… boses palaka yung nanay mo… kapag may pagkakataon dapat talaga mag-voice lesson sya kasi sobrang hilig nya kumanta, gustong gusto talaga nya.”
As a loving mother, Marian understands that everyone is affected because of the “new normal”. However, she knows that it is better to conduct online classes rather than having none at all. According to her, education is very important and the situation that we are currently in is adaptable.
Going back to her work, the Kapuso superstar said that the reason she backed out of her role in First Yaya is that she is concerned about her children. She also said that shooting the scenes of the teleserye will take 15 days and being away that long, she just couldn’t help but think of her kids.
“…paano ko gagawin yun? Kahit mag-pump ako at ibigay ko yung milk ko, baka pagdating sa anak ko, panis na di ba? At paano ako magiging panatag kung ang utak ko nasa bahay kung anong ginagawa ng mga anak ko. lalo na si sixto maliit kailangan ako,” Marian said.
