Solenn Heussaff’s eyes twinkled as she spoke about the “developmental milestones” of Thylane Katana, a.k.a. Tili, her eldest daughter with Nico Bolzico.
It would seem that, at the age of six, the little girl is already an advanced learner.
“…I think it's more the reading and the writing. Since she has really learned how to read and she's learning how to write, every time she does something, kahit minsan when we have our mini arguments, I'll have a note under my door.
“Like saying, ‘I’m sorry, Mama, I got mad at you.’ But the way it's written, iba, but I get it…
“She's really putting the effort.”
In Tili's Promil commercial, she was assigned as the director of the project, and Solenn said she would not be surprised if her daughter pursues directing in the future.
“So, she really loves, you know, to play and work with her imagination. Like right now, she's inventing stories, even like makes these little books where she writes the story.
“She tries to spell the words 'cause she's already reading and everything. So she tries to spell the word.
"I can understand it when I read, but it's not the exact writing.
“But she's really all about exploratory play, like she loves to pretend play.
“And she's also growing so fast, like I feel like I'm talking to a mini adult sometimes.
"Like, sometimes she's like, she corrects me, and I'm like, ‘Oh, you're right. You're actually right. That's how it should be.’
“’You see, mom? I'm smarter than you.’ I said, ‘Yes, okay.’”
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It seems that language is another forte of the little girl.
But this is not actually surprising since her mom is fluent in French, English, and Filipino, while her husband’s native tongue is Spanish.
The Kapuso actress continued: “Her school is all in French, the moment she comes home, she explains to her dad in Spanish what she did in school. Multiple languages.”
SOLENN HEUSSAFF'S PARENTING STYLE
Aside from Tili, she has another daughter, Maëlys Lionel, who is three years old.
Based on her previous interviews, Solenn Heussaff’s parenting style is both creative and immersive.
She related: “When we get home, the kids, they love to play with, with Nico, they play school at home.
“So parang we set up the table, tapos may break sila, may snack break.
“Tapos may Math sila. So, we do like, uh, counting with beads and everything.
“So the two daughters are there. And then we have playtime together, creative time together.
“At the end of the day talaga, for me, it's really spending meaningful time with your children.
“Kahit, kahit hindi yung buong araw, basta when you're spending time with them.”
Solenn, indeed, comes up with activities to keep her children busy. One social media post showed the three of them painting a huge canvas, and they appeared to have had so much fun.
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At the same time, these activities help make learning more enjoyable.
The Kapuso actress added: “So what we do at home also, we bake a lot or we cook. She cooks with me, si Tili.
“When we bake naman, and she'll be like, ‘Oh, is this good?’ I’ll be like, well, yung halimbawa, may sugar sa cupcakes. Sabi ko, ‘It's something you enjoy, but it's not essentially very good for you.'
“So I try to explain to her na, you know, what's good for you is like, a broccoli because you get the energy or egg because you get the protein.
“So I also teach her proper nutrition. But of course, at this age ng mga bata, siyempre they, they like to explore food also.”
SOLENN HEUSSAFF on gentle PARETING
Much like her best friend Georgina Wilson, she believes in “stimulating the kids but in the right way.”
This requires time and effort on her part.
Whenever she’s with her daughters, she gives them her one-hundred percent attention.
“Be intentional. Be present. Like be present, be there. Put your phone aside, your work aside, all your to-do list aside. Like, really be present."
Given her patience in communicating and explaining things to them, is she a fan of gentle parenting?
“Triny ko yung gentle parenting, but I had a hard time. Parang kasi, I think depende din sa bata.
"Kasi si Tili is very, like, she really knows what she wants.
“She's so palaban.
“When I’m the gentle parent, parang she's able to, like, make her way and have it her own way. Parang medyo manipulating me.”
But Solenn may be doing things right as a parent after all.
Tili is not only “magaling sa diskarte,” but also very confident.