Paolo Valenciano is proud to be his daughter Leia's best playmate.
Yet when it comes to disciplining his two-year-old child, the director-singer turns into an authoritative parent.
Paolo makes the rules and imposes them.
Luckily, with the help of his wife Samantha, he is able to do it in a gentle way that develops their child's attitude.
In an interview with PEP.ph (Philippine Entertainment Portal) during an event for a baby brand, Paolo explains, "To be very honest, [being gentle] is actually something that my wife helps me with because my wife, parang siya yung naaawa kay Leia pag ako yung nag-e-enforce ng rules."
Whenever Leia throws a tantrum or cries, he always tries to keep his cool and be on top of the situation.
He is well aware that if he loses control and gets mad, he is not setting a good example for his daughter. She may even imbibe the same behavioral response during stressful situations.
Paolo continues, "But you know, they do mimic the stuff that we do at home, and that's one thing that really stopped me from spanking or raising my voice at her, because ayokong isipin niya na okay lang gawin iyon sa ibang tao.
"Like my biggest fear all the time, every time she plays around with other children, is that I don't want her to be hitting other kids. I want her to be sharing with other children.
"So that's something that I keep in mind every time nagta-tantrum o umiiyak or she breaks something in the house.
"That's the first thing that pops in my head so that it changes my approach on how to enforce the rules."
Paolo and Sam apply gentle discipline on their cute toddler even in the simplest situations, like shopping in a store.
In his Instagram post below, Paolo can be heard telling Leia to be careful while allowing her to play around the area freely.
In another Instagram post, Paolo reveals that when Leia cried after her first blood test, he and Sam simply handed her a bottle of milk.
Right then and there, the little girl stopped crying.
"Milk saves the day," Paolo writes in his caption.
PAOLO BUILDS TRUST BETWEEN HIM AND LEIA
Paolo believes that the right way to discipline a child starts with good communication, and one way of doing it is through play.
"When you connect with your child, especially through play, it creates trust between Leia and I," he says.
"[That] trust sort of goes a long way especially when we don't agree with some of the things that she does, when she gets a little naughty, and we sort of have to tell her, 'Leia, no' or 'Leia, don't do that.'"
Paolo hoped that Leia would see her parents as friends who want nothing but the best for her.
Paolo adds, "I think it's because she knows that we are the authority and, at the same time, we are friends. Sam and I, we are [her] friends.
"So we don't mean her any harm and I think it's that trust is really is the [root] of good connection with your child."