How these celebrity dads balance grit and grace in raising sons
First-time dads Joem Bascon and Rocco Nacino agree on one thing: Raising their sons takes equal parts guidance and grit—with a little wisdom, a little toughness, and plenty of daddy bonding in between.
Nacino, who is married to volleyball star Melissa Gohing, admits his biggest fear for his son Ezren Raffaello (or EZ), 2, is that he might grow up to be a rebel—“just like me when I was younger.”
“I’m kind of seeing that in him this early,” he told Lifestyle. “He’s like, ‘This is what I want. I don’t care about what you want.’ So I’m thinking, ‘Okay. This is my karma!’”
Bascon, on the other hand, worries that his Gideon (Gido), 4, with actress Meryll Soriano, might end up falling in with the wrong crowd.
“I went through something similar when I was younger, pero nadiskartehan ko,” he said. “I guess this is what my own father felt back then. That’s why, even though Gido is only 4, I already give him advice. I tell him, ‘This is not good for you,’ or ‘Scissors are sharp. Be careful.’
“Of course, his understanding isn’t that broad yet, but he’s starting to get how things work,” Bascon added. “I don’t force things on him—he already knows he should listen to us, his parents.”
Having been a bit of a rebel himself, Nacino is convinced that he knows how to guide EZ. “I give him options. I explain why one choice isn’t okay, that there are consequences, and then I let him decide. If he gets hurt, I just say, ‘That’s what I was telling you!’”
Learn from experience
Nacino firmly believes in letting EZ learn through experience. “I’m sorry, but kids today are a little too fragile. They need guidance and a bit of toughness. What better way to do that than to let them experience failure and learn from it?”
He laughed as he recalled moments when his wife had to hold him back from rushing to help EZ. “Pigil na pigil kami. From afar, I’d just ask, ‘So, what do you have to do? You’ve got to find a way.’ Eventually, he figures it out. I think that’s a good way for parents and kids to coexist. We’re all tired, we all have limited patience, but for me, this journey is one I’d gladly take.”
Both Bascon and Soriano, who grew up in show biz, have drawn a firm line when it comes to exposing Gido to the industry’s demanding lifestyle. “We want him to grow up in a normal environment,” he explained.
By “normal,” he means a childhood centered around home, school, and play—without the pressures of TV and film. “We don’t want to introduce him to show biz and commercials just yet,” explained Bascon, who is a cast member of Brillante Ma Mendoza’s action-drama “Bansa” along with Nacino.
While Gido is aware that his parents are actors, Bascon wants him to finish his studies before considering a career in entertainment. “Of course, times have changed, and we’re lucky we can provide him with a stable life. Back then, we had to work to help out with the family’s needs. We’re just glad we don’t have to bring him to a set so late at night to act out scenes.”
Bascon added: “We want him to get a college degree first. After that, he can decide whether he wants to be an actor or CEO of his own company. Meme (Soriano’s nickname) and I always joke that it’s better if he’s the one paying actors rather than being one himself.”
Meanwhile, Nacino has already spotted hints of show-biz potential in EZ. “He talks to strangers like they’re his friends. He’ll say, ‘Look! Come! Come!’ I was like, ‘Mayor ka ba?’ When we have visitors, he gives them a house tour. He is so me.”
That said, education is still the priority. “I won’t stop him if he wants to enter show biz, but he has to finish school first—just like I did,” Nacino said. “I may not have been a child star, but I built a career and made it stable. I want him to have that same mindset.”
Big dreams
Like Bascon, Nacino already has big dreams for his son. “As early as now, I want to teach him about business. When he gets older, he’ll have chores with a salary. I’m also introducing play money soon. At this stage in my life, I’m already thinking about what I’ll leave behind as my legacy. That’s why I invest in businesses, insurance, and, of course, travel. Time spent bonding is just as important.”
Bascon admits he’s the type who would overindulge his kid. “Meme scolds me for that. She’s the disciplinarian between us. While I try to give my son what he wants, I also try to make him understand that we can’t always buy him toys,” he said.
He also reflected on his own upbringing, saying that while he recalls how his father raised him, he wants to carve his own path as a parent. “I don’t want to be a strict father. I don’t want him to grow up scared of me. I want him to see me as someone he can play with, while still setting some boundaries and limitations,” he explained. “Meme and I don’t want to be traditional parents. Yes, we limit his screen time because we want him to find reasons to run and play in the park.”
Bascon proudly shared that Soriano’s son with actor Bernard Palanca, 17-year-old Elijah (Eli), calls him Dad. He noted that handling a teenager is very different from raising a preschooler.
“What’s great about Eli is that he’s very open with me and Meme. Once in a while, the three of us go out on dates, just talking and helping him figure things out. But in the end, it’s really up to him how he wants to live his life. My advice to him is to always be responsible and accept the consequences of his choices.”
Nacino, currently juggling three GMA 7-produced TV shows, admitted he sometimes gets jealous of his wife for having more time with EZ. “So when I’m home, it’s always playtime, no matter how tired I am. It’s hard to balance being a dad with work, but that’s life,” he said.
Nacino makes sure to instill in his own family the values he learned from his parents. “It was important for them that we eat dinner together. No one could touch the food until we were all seated. We also used to pray together as a family. Yes, they were strict and authoritative. I get it—they’re from a different generation. I’m also okay with spanking if needed, but I also think the more you hit a child, the more they rebel because they’re not allowed to express themselves.”
Instead, Nacino takes a different approach when EZ throws a tantrum. “A lot of times, when he’s having a fit, I just carry him to a room, sit down with him, and ask, ‘What’s wrong? Are you in pain? Are you itchy? Are you hungry?’ Rather than disciplining a child physically, I believe keeping an open line of communication is more important.”
