“Our favorite way to bond is doing chores together on weekends.
“Saturday morning is pancakes-and-bacon day. She’s always excited to mix the pancake batter. No matter how messy it gets, I make sure we clean up our mess together.
“We start our day by making breakfast, then giving our dogs a bath and helping her dad clean the car.
“Saturday is also coin laundry day. She’d help load and unload clothes and her stuffed toys. She’d ‘help’ me fold the face towels and her clothes. (At least that’s what she believes she’s doing).
“Finally, we have a once-a-month (usually the last weekend) Mommy and Gabby mani-pedi day, you know, to reward ourselves.”—Grace Murillo, mom to Gabby, 4
“We go with him to places he’s never been. He’s almost 4 and very inquisitive, especially when he sees and experiences things for the first time. I love answering his questions and explaining to him how things work. I’m also amazed at how he remembers a lot of things from our trips, so it’s a great way for him to learn and create memories with us.”—Rocel Roque Maningat, mom to Rafa, 3
“My favorite is going swimming or watching movies with the kids.”—Charles Paw, dad to Charlee, 8, and Conrad, 3
“Swimming, cooking together and eating! She eats anything I eat.”—NJ Torres-Jacobson, mom to Savannah Taylor, 1
“My days are always filled with bonding moments with my son. So hard to pick a favorite! Each one is so special—from taking showers together, bringing him to and from school, to watching his baseball training and games, to watching Netflix, telling bedtime stories and having midnight snacks.
“I watch him grow and witness every milestone. He takes pride in my accomplishments and keeps me grounded.
“We also love to travel. I see the world through his eyes, and it never fails to amaze me. His enchantment with the simplest stuff and excitement upon discovering new things—magical.
“We watch YouTube videos of the exciting things we can do in the cities that we’re going to. Aiden just turned 6 but he is so good with maps and directions.
“He also enjoys browsing my business trip phone photos while I tell him the stories behind them.”—Shelly Lazaro, mom to Aiden, 6
“We enjoy traveling, weekend road trips, playing board games, craft projects and chocolate making. I make it a point to do our favorite bonding activity which we fondly call ‘Mommy Time.’
“We spend time together before sleeping to say a prayer and take turns sharing three things that we are thankful for. This helps us focus on the positive and teaches the kids to always be thankful for their blessings.”—Treena Tecson, mom to Hailey, 11, and Hannah, 7
“My husband and I love having mini staycations with the kids on weekends in Metro Manila, when we visit their lolo and lola in QC (we live in Laguna). We’ve attempted—and succeeded!—in taking them on a long road trip for a seaside vacation in Baler, and we’re excited to go on more trips as the kids get older.”—Annelle Tayao-Juego, mom to Dakila, 3, and Dalisay, 10 months
“Our twins are six, and are just starting to read decently, so I bought them joke books, and they love telling the jokes, then asking me what they mean for half of them.
“They also really enjoy the songs of Queen and ask me to play that for them or else ask me to sing with them. Our daughter enjoys cooking, so we do that too.”—Jon-jon Rufino, dad to Lucian and Lilith, 6
“My favorite way to bond with Rocco is when we tell stories before nap time in the afternoon. He tells me about his day, and we laugh and cuddle. I also really love when we are in the water on the beach and we try to find little fish or crabs.”—Wiji Lacsamana, mom to Rocco, 3
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