Moms and Dads

From The Editor: Celebrating the Everyday Choices in Modern Parenting

by Marga Tupaz
August 22, 2025

The Parents’ Choice Awards 2025 spotlights trusted products and standout services that make parenting easier, smarter, and more enjoyable while highlighting Ria Atayde-Marudo with her son Sabino, sharing candid moments of first-time motherhood.

Having raised six kids, I realized that parenting is really just a series of choices—big ones, small ones, the everyday in-betweens. And let’s be honest, most of us are figuring it out as we go—doing our best to choose what’s good, what’s safe, what works and what brings a little more ease into our day-to-day realities.

2025 marks our fourth run of the Parents’ Choice Awards, and every year, the list keeps growing—because we keep discovering products, services and brands that make the circus act that is parenting feel a little less like juggling. This is why the opportunity to honor these winners through an actual event is so well deserved and long overdue.

A Heartfelt Congratulations

This isn’ t just a roundup—it’s a celebration of things that make a difference in our daily family lives. These are our trusty go-tos, the ones we recommend without hesitation and “add to cart” time and again.

This year’s list is our biggest yet—and assembling it required a powerhouse team. I’m deeply grateful to the eight savvy, selective, no-nonsense moms who were so game to join our Parents’ Choice Awards panel (meet them in this issue). Together, we tackled every category, bringing informed perspectives shaped by our own experiences and unfiltered honesty. Along the way, we laughed, debated, swapped stories—and ultimately landed on the standouts that truly and consistently deliver where it counts.

To the brands that made the cut: Congratulations! You’ve earned the trust of this amazing community, and that’s no small feat. When we sent out the notices, you were all pleasantly surprised! Know that we acknowledge and applaud you, and are grateful for the way you show up for modern families. Consider this our standing ovation.

To honor the brands that have helped parents on their journeys, Modern Parenting, together with Travelhood, co-presented the Parents' Choice Awards 2025.

Celebrating Modern Families

And speaking of modern families—we’re thrilled to share our August cover, featuring Ria Atayde Marudo and her beautiful son, Sabino, in their first-ever shoot together. Ria gets refreshingly candid about life as a first-time mom—everything from the harsh truths about breastfeeding to building a new life with her husband, Zanjoe Marudo. It’s a deeply personal story of love, identity and finding her own rhythm in this beautiful mess we call motherhood.

Whether you’re flipping through this magazine in between feedings, meetings, errands or maybe even while hiding in the bathroom for a five-minute breather— we hope it brings you a little light, a few good finds, and that warm “me too” feeling that reminds you that you’re never alone in this parenting journey. We’re always right here with you.

Here’s to making the choices that matter and celebrating the ones that make this whole parenting gig a little easier and a lot more fun!

Love and light,
Marga Tupaz

Modern Parenting’s Parents’ Choice Awards 2025 issue is now available in sarisari.shopping.