Camille Prats and her three kids
Raising children is hard—and more so these days because of the pandemic.
One thing mother of three Camille Prats has learned in the past few months is that you can’t be too hard on yourself.
“You’re dealing with three different personalities. And they don’t fully understand what’s happening now, so you try your best to make them understand. But not everything will happen according to your plans,” she told the Inquirer in a recent video interview for the GMA 7 lifestyle show, “Mars Pa More.”
Some days are better than others; some can be more frustrating. And once in a while, everyone would be in a bad mood. But it’s important, Camille said, not to look at it as a parenting failure.
“Kung may mga sablay or if everyone’s in a bad mood, I don’t dwell on it. I have learned not to make a big deal out of the little things that happen,” she said.
Camille has two children with husband, VJ Yambao: 2-year-old girl, Nala, and 1-year-old boy, Nolan. Her eldest son, Nathan—with her late husband Anthony Linsangan—is 12. “We try our best every day, but we’re not perfect,” stressed the actress-television host.
“I cut myself some slack,” she added. “Tomorrow is another day to make things better.”
After all, motherhood is a continuous learning process; a cycle of adjusting and readjusting.
“Motherhood is constantly changing. What you did today, you may have to tweak tomorrow. Say, sweet-talking your kids to eat or take a bath. You have to have a different script next time because your old one won’t always work,” she quipped.
Fortunately, Camille is getting all the help she can get from VJ when it comes to household chores or tending to the children. “Kailangan may pakinabang sila!” she jested. “He takes care of things I can’t do anymore and vice versa.”
Kidding aside, Camille considered herself blessed to have a husband who’s genuinely hands-on. “That makes our lives easier. It’s one thing to be in charge of the kids and another to actually enjoy being in charge of them,” she pointed out.While working from home is less than ideal, the fact that “Mars” has resumed production at all is more than she could ask for.
“When the pandemic started, all of us were scared for our livelihoods. Will we still have work tomorrow … the day after? Where will this take us,” she said. “It’s challenging. But at this point, given what we continue to go through, I can’t be more thankful.”
But the show’s current setup—with the hosts and guests improvising and filming their own material—does have its advantages.
“We save time because we no longer spend two or more hours on the road. And even during taping days, I still get to look after the kids,” she said. “They know when I’m working, so they don’t bother me. I can get used to this (laughs).”