Sharon Cuneta on adoption: Tell the child early or later on? 

MANILA, Philippines — Megastar Sharon Cuneta bared her thoughts on adoption and said she prefers to tell a child he or she is adopted early than later on.

Sharon Cuneta and Miguel. Photo from Sharon Cuneta’s official Facebook page

Cuneta discussed the topic in a Youtube video posted Thursday night titled “My thoughts on adoption. Is it better to tell your child early on or later?”

“In my opinion lang naman, Kiko [Pangilinan] and I decided na  maliit pa si Miguel namin, ay sasabihin na namin para wala nang questions. Lumalaki sya na sa isip ko, alam niyang special siyang bata,” Cuneta said.

“Ang sabi ko sa kanya, ‘The lady that had you really loved you, but could not anymore afford to keep you,’” she added.

It was in 2012 when Cuneta and her husband Senator Francis “Kiko” Pangilinan introduced their adopted son Miguel to the public.

And Cuneta said she knew from the very start she wanted to tell Miguel he was adopted.

“Alam ko gusto ko talagang sabihin habang maliit pa siya. Kasi meron akong friends na nag-adopt na hindi muna agad sinabi na ‘you’re adopted’ so lumaki yung mga bata knowing a different kind of reality tapos nung nalaman nilang adopted sila, iba iba ‘yung reactions e,” she said.

The seasoned actress also shared how she told Miguel he was adopted: “One day, we were in Tagaytay, nakahiga kaming mag-ina sa kama. Nagkkwentuhan kami, nila-love love ko siya, then all of a sudden he asked me, ‘Am I adopted, mama?’”

Deep inside, Cuneta was unsure what to do, but she took it lightly in the end.

“Sabi ko, ‘Lord, please guide me. How will I answer this?’ Because I wasn’t prepared. I said, “Yah!” I really had to, ‘yung alam mo yung parang di sobrang serious na conversation,” she recalled.

“It was in passing and I said, ‘Your sisters came from my tummy, your ates came from my tummy, God sent you to us,’” she added.

Cuneta also advised parents to always emphasize how special their child is and pointed out that family does not always have to be by blood.

“I’d rather tell my child habang bata siya. But not in a way na parang seryosong seryoso na parang big deal ‘to. ‘Yung akin is, you’re special because you were chosen and you’re part of our family even if you didn’t come from my tummy,” Cuneta said.

“Always always emphasize na he’s very special kasi pinili siya and family doesn’t always have to be by blood,” she added.  /muf