As one of the most hardworking moms in showbiz today, Judy Ann Santos said that she and husband Ryan Agoncillo try to teach their three children Yohan, Lucio, and Luna, the importance of reading as early as possible.
“As early as newborn nagbabasa na kami ng baby books sa kanila especially kay Yohan. We started reading to her books about adoption. Eventually kasi naging mahilig talaga sila magbasa eh. They have reading time at home kaya si Luna din also follows her sister and her brother. Right now they like to read mga adventure books, mga ghost stories, basically kung ano yung mga bedtime stories na maisipan nila. But most of the time, mga horror. Mahilig sila sa nakakatakot,” she shares during the launch of the McDonalds Happy Meal Readers Program last February 20.
Having worked at an early age, Juday said she sees the benefits of making reading a habit. “Ako kasi ang experience ko, I’ve read a lot of scripts. That’s for sure kasi I’ve been acting since I was eight years old. With reading books kasi, in fact na-engganyo na lang ako magbasa-basa ng cookbooks and everything through Ryan. Because Ryan is really a bookworm. Talagang nagbabasa yan. I realized na mas malawak talaga ang vocabulary ng bata kapag nagbabasa and at the same time, yung focus nila in one activity mas malawak at saka mas maganda ang focus nila aside sa paggamit ng mga gadgets. Because ang daming puwedeng gawin with gadgets di ba? Pero with books kasi, you’re just concentrated and focused on what your reading. And then your imagination and your creativity gumagana siya,” she explained.
Bonding over books is also another activity in the Agoncillo household according to Juday. “At saka yung mga anak namin, they love talking about what they’ve read. Ako natututo ako ng mga bagong words sa kanila. Pag may tinatanong sila sa akin, ‘Mom, what’s the meaning of this?’ Sasabihin ko, ‘Let’s ask daddy.’ So yung mga bata nag-fa-follow kay Ryan when it comes to reading and then when I don’t understand yung word, they ask Ryan. Kay Ry ko binabato kasi mas marami siyang alam eh (laughs). Para sigurado yung isasagot,” she explained.
