Judy Ann Santos to Teenage Daughter on Courtship: 'Masarap Maligawan'

Judy Ann Santos-Agoncillo now wears three hats in her role as a parent: she's mom to a toddler (daughter Luna, 3 years old), a big kid (son Lucho, 8 years old), and a teenager (daughter Yohan, 14 years old). As any parent who's been there would know, each of these stages brings its own set of challenges. For the teenage years, the topic of boys and girls cannot be avoided.

The multi-awarded actress reveals her eldest daughter may already have crushes and that she is "mahilig sa guwapo" — thus Juday has been giving Yohan pieces of advice regarding relationships. 

"Lagi kong sinasabi sa kanya na, 'Sweetheart, it doesn't mean that when they're guwapo, they're mabait, ha?'

"It's not always the complete package. There's always something behind that beautiful face.

"So, it's also nice not to like a person just because they look good. You have to really know them," the chef and book author told Pep.ph.

Judy Ann may be a modern mom, but her views on  love and courtship remain conservative. She believes in the good, old-fashioned way of wooing a girl through courtship — something she'd like for her daughters to experience.

"Sabi ko sa kanya, 'Ang trabaho ng lalake ay manligaw.

"Ang trabaho ng babae magpaligaw, so huwag na huwag mo gagawin yung trabaho ng lalake.'

"Kasi masarap maligawan, and, you know, you give them a hard time," Juday tells Yohan.

She also schools her teenager about the importance of the courtship stage, which is for a girl to find out two things: one, if a person is worthy of her time, and two, if a guy has pure intentions with her. 

"Sabi ko sa kanya, 'You will know kung talagang clean yung intentions ng lalake sa iyo kapag sinabi mo you have to court me in two years.'

"They will court you for two years because they really like you and they really love you.

"Pero kung hindi... then it's not worth your time.

Judy Ann, who celebrated her 10th wedding anniversary with husband Ryan Agoncillo on April 28 this year (they dated for almost four years before tying the knot), also advises Yohan to take it slow when it comes to matters of the heart.

"Okay lang iyan, marami pa diyan, anak. Ilang bilyong tao nasa mundo, huwag kang mangarag na maubusan ka ng lalake."