Joy Sotto Wants Her Young Sons to Pray for Their Future Wives

If you think having one son or daughter is challenging, imagine a household of four boys and a toddler girl, all between the ages of 2 and 14. This is Joy Sotto’s reality: 5 boisterous kids who make her and husband Gian’s home the happy wonderland that it is. 

“I guess, you just get used to it,” the 38-year-old Cebuana told Pep.ph at an event for SM Kids. “But so far, there’s nothing yet that can make me say being a mom of boys is difficult.”

Nonetheless, she admits fights are a normal part of their childhood. How does she handle these?“I think the key there is to patch it up right away.

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To cite an example, Joy said Sandro, 7, and Rosanno, 6,  were quarreling right before that event. “What I did was I pulled them aside, and I had to ask them, ‘Okay, what happened?’

“I had to be the referee and then I had to ask them to apologize to each other and to forgive.”

Is she usually strict with her kids?

“I try to be as calm as possible. But there are times when I do lose my patience — it’s normal naman, e.

“I always try to be malumanay. But I’m not a perfect mom. Sometimes, I really lose my patience.

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Raising well-mannered kids is something she hopes to accomplish. “Praying they won’t grow up being mga pasaway. I’m praying that they grow up to be gentlemen and may respect, may love.”

Speaking of love, the wife of Quezon City’s vice mayor believes it’s never too early to lay the foundations for the distant future, especially when it comes to her sons finding a partner in life. 

“I actually tell them even as early as now that they should pray for their future wives. That they should start praying as early as now that their, because I really believe that God has already someone planned for them like when you’re born, God already has someone for them.

“I told them, ‘You pray that your future wife will know God as early as now para when you meet then it’s gonna be the perfect timing.

“So I always tell them that as early as now, ‘You pray for your future wife.’”

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Take it from Joy, who with Gian are celebrating their 12th wedding anniversary this year. One of their secrets? “We never go to bed with unresolved issues no matter how petty they seem to be,” she told Philstar in a previous article. 

“When we put God at the center of our marriage, everything started to go well.”

On being a parent, she tells Pep.ph, “It will be an achievement for every mom to have God-fearing kids.” Looking at her brood of five, it’s easy to see she's doing a great job.

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