Special Features
Hey Baby: Celebrating Modern Parenting’s First Year
A year in review: here’s what went down
A lot can happen in a year. A global pandemic, a cute baby who still refuses to sleep through the night, and in Modern Parenting’s case — the launch of a new platform. Finally, parents across the Philippines have a source for content that’s not only helpful, but uber relevant, and sometimes entertaining, too!
Since July 17, 2020, we’ve stuck to our goal of being your companion in the journey of parenthood. We are guided by our principle — being that inclusive community for all kinds of parents: single parents, young parents, LGBTQIA+ parents, even fur parents. We’ve been building a mini-village to help everyone who “parents” raise their children. There’s no doubt that it’s been a year of reckoning for everyone, but our strength, nimbleness and purpose-driven content have made Modern Parenting stay resilient and become increasingly valuable for our readers.
Instead of throwing a party to celebrate our launch, Modern Parenting rocked the digital space on July 17, 2020 like a boss. From a social media campaign called #ModernParentingLove to a Facebook Live show featuring the founding editor, Marga Tupaz, along with 6 modern dads and 6 modern moms.
Here’s a look back at our first year:
We have published around 600 stories in the last 12 months. We gave every tita in Manila the lowdown on the world’s hottest bands, BTS and Blackpink — shoutout to our fellow ARMYs and Blinks! We also showed them how to embrace their tita-ness. We talked about how to navigate tricky GCQ rules, and what to do (and where to stay) with kids because we know how important it is for our kids to get out. We update all this content regularly for all of you. We remembered our support groups and also thought of delish recipes to feed the kids. And when we were too lazy to bake our own cakes or whip up a meal, we found the best food service providers in town.
We tried to understand why our kids were obsessed with CoCoMelon and helped them get over the new Blippi. And yes, we #fangirled over some of the hottest dads, fittest and most stylish moms because you know, #goals. We also went into more serious stuff like losing a partner or a child. We guided parents about about home-based learning and internet safety and even taught kids about gender identity. We shared advice on how young girls can deal with getting their periods and talked to Gen Z kids. We also learned how important it was to live our truths.
It was important for us to have conversations with actual modern parents. We got the lowdown from Piolo Pascual on being a cool dad, Jake Ejercito on being a co-parenting girl dad, and Billy and Coleen Crawford anticipating the arrival of Amari. We hung out with Drs. Z and Aivee Teo, their kids and all their giant poodles and the beautiful trio of Ruffa Gutierrez and her sisters-in-law, Alexa and Sarah. We’ve also gotten to know Sunshine Cruz and her girls, and learned what parenting a special child was like from Akiko Thomson and Chips Guevara.
Rocio Olbes shared the highs and lows of her IVF journey, while Cat Arambulo Antonio got real about social media and the importance of giving back. Jerika Ejercito talked to us about battling depression, while Aina Lacson shared her breast cancer journey. We celebrated Mother’s Day with Solenn Heussaff and Jodi Sta. Maria, while Nico Bolzico, Marvin Agustin and Rodjun Cruz graced our Father’s Day covers with Dr. Hayden Kho who talked to us about intentional parenting.
We also made a lot of parents LOL with famous homeschooling memes and remembering things our parents used to say to us. We also pointed out all the ways teens today would never be able to relate to kids of the 90s.
Modern Parenting’s editor-in-chief, Marga Tupaz, who also happens to me a mom of six, has shared tried and tested tips. She has also hosted a number of conversations with a litany of experts, on all the topics that matter to parents through a Facebook Live show called Real Talk.
From breastfeeding, money matters, coping with home based learning (yup, we used these in the same sentence), taking care of one’s health to finding inner peace — all these topics and more were explored. And we’ve gathered that there’s more to come! Watch out for it.
With the help of our favorite Modern Parents, we showed the Instagram community what Modern Parenting was truly all about. It allowed our followers the chance to reflect on the happy vibes-filled messages and images that flooded feeds. And yes, it inspired them to follow suit too.
Our #HomeForChristmas campaign, in collaboration with Rustan’s, reminded everyone that despite the restrictions brought upon by the pandemic, simple celebrations should continue because the true meaning of the holidays is simply being grateful and being with family.
While most of our audience remains mostly millennial and Gen X moms, we were able to tap into the dad-sphere. Thanks, Dadbudsph and Legendaddy! Several dads were also more than happy to give their take on parenting, their woes, their insights, and beyond.
A Message From Our Editors
Marga Tupaz, Editor-in-Chief
It’s hard not to get emotional about today. I feel like my seventh child is turning a year old. And parents, we all know that first birthdays are a huge deal. From the get go, this brand has always been special to me. It was built out of a need, a need to connect with parents during a very difficult and confusing time. We made it our mission to be inclusive and relatable to everyone, it didn’t matter who.
For as long as you are parenting, you are part of our tribe! We worked hard day in and day out on content that was helpful, relevant, entertaining and sometimes, funny. And I am also proud to say that during some of our roughest days, our mission always paved the way for us. Thank you to all of you for being a part of Modern Parenting this year. The best is yet to come.
Jana Blanco, Managing Editor
Yes, a lot has happened — and you’ve all noticed it too! More people are seeing how Modern Parenting’s content resonates with parenthood and all the aches, smiles and tears that come along with it. We hope we’ve done justice to this crazy ‘hood and we’ll continue to do so by producing content that is nuanced, funny, informative and most importantly, REAL.
And, as always, you’re welcome.
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