Mentoring is no kids’ stuff for Ogie

Ogie Alcasid

While some people may think that brutal honesty is the best way to teach children the harsh realities of the business, singer-actor Ogie Alcasid, one of the mentor-judges in the ABS-CBN impersonation tilt “Your Face Sounds Familiar Kids,” begs to differ, though.

“We really have to be careful in handling the children,” he told the Inquirer. “Sometimes you have to hold back. You can tell naman when they are really affected. Or if they can handle constructive criticism. When you see that the kid looks sad after a performance, that’s when it’s really hard.”

Humor can sometimes lighten the mood, but not always.

“Once, I cracked a joke, but the child didn’t understand it,” he recalled. “Of course, the audience laughed. The kid felt bad. His face said: Why are they laughing at me? That’s why I’ve become more cautious now.”

The young contestants in the show are guided by an in-house psychiatrist, to help them process the pressures of competition. —BAYANI SAN DIEGO JR.