Niña Corpuz (left) and Karel Marquez. Image: INQUIRER.net/Armin P. Adina
Broadcaster Niña Corpuz admitted that she went to nine schools when she was choosing where to send his first child, to prove how “discerning” she is when it comes to everything concerning the welfare of her children.
“That was my first child, you have to forgive me. But that’s how discerning I am. I really scanned and researched. So not just in school, [but also] in terms of everything, especially food,” she said at the “Growth Watch” forum with a select group of media guests held in Taguig City on Thursday, June 13.
The event was also attended by actress, host and mom of four Karel Marquez, who shared how she constantly finds creative ways to make mealtime more interesting for her “picky eater.”
“I create a meal plan, as much as possible. And then, also, for my picky eater, I create bento boxes to be creative. I put spinach and malunggay under the nuggets. I try my best, so extra effort talaga (really) in terms of that,” she shared.
Marquez said only one of her four kids struggles with appetite. “I’m monitoring all of them. I also need to know what I can do to balance his. That’s where I add an oral nutritional supplement like Pediasure so he can get the nutrients he misses. So far it works for me,” she added.
For Corpuz, her discernment also extends to the things she gives her children. “May iba gatas nang gatas, pero nagiging obese sila (There are some who always drink milk but become obese). Baka (Maybe) it’s not the right milk for your child. So you really have to be very discerning. I’m very discerning in choosing the right oral nutritional supplement for my child. It has to be tried and tested, backed by science. Gano’n ako eh (That’s how I am),” she said.
The broadcaster said she listens to experts on child nutrition, and on every topic concerning her children. She also discusses parenting with a group of fellow mothers. “You know, we support each other because we cannot do it alone. So, you know, this is great. We’re doing conversations like this, getting together, putting it all out there with what we’ve learned,” she said.
Marquez, for her part, uses several “tools” to help check her children’s progress. “I also have the growth calculator, the growth chart. So that can also help me monitor my child’s growth,” she said, citing an online platform to help determine a child’s ideal weight.
“We’re also lucky, [in this] digital age we can do lots of research. I research also online on what to do. [Of course] the website should be legit, they proved it. And marami na ring (there are also a lot of) supplements to help. So thankfully, also, my four-year-old son really finishes his glass,” she said.
And as famous mothers who other parents also look up to, they hope to be able to influence others to be more discerning when it comes to the children’s welfare. “I try my best to talk about, you know, how I do everything I can to give [my children] the right nutrition, the right support,” Corpuz said.
“But we know that in reality, it’s not perfect. We can only do so much. We try our best but we cannot do everything as moms. And we want all the moms to know that as well, that we also struggle,” she added, at the same time stressing that mothers should be exposed to more affordable options for healthy and nutritious food for their children.
Corpuz also appealed to barangay officials and community leaders to ensure that the people’s nutritional needs are met, to lay down policies, and implement projects that make it easier for mothers to provide their children with the proper nutrition.