Mom Learned Her Daughter Wouldn't Turn Her Cam On For Class Because Of This Heartbreaking Reason

Hiedie Mamauag, a content creator with 186,000 followers on Facebook, more popularly known as Mommy Hieds, left the netizens with tears as she shared her recent exchange with her daughter. 

She recently found out that her daughter Afiara doesn’t want to turn on the camera while she attends her online classes. Hiedie took a video to show Afiara’s teacher that she is attending the class, but doesn’t want to show her face online. 

“Afiara, you should open your camera when you have online school, okay?,” Mommy Hiedie said in the video. 

Her daughter didn’t answer, and she continued to ask, “Why are you not opening the camera?”

Afiara’s answer is all at once shocking and heartbreaking, especially for Mommy Hiedie. “It's so weird. My face,” she said.

Even though Hiedie was taken aback by Afiara's answer, Mommy Hiedie was quick to affirm to her daughter, “No, you are pretty. You’re not weird.”

“Nung time po kasi na ‘yon, medyo emotional ako. Sinabi ko kay Teacher, si Afiara ayaw mag-on ng camera. Sinasabihan kasi siya ng Teacher na, ‘Fiara, your camera, i-on mo.’ Kaya vinideo ko, para i-submit kay Teacher,” Mommy Hiedei shared in a video interview with Philippine Star about her viral video.

'Masakit po sa damdamin pero kailangan ko maging malakas, kasi kailangan po ako ng anak ko.' -Hiedie Mamauag

She said that even though she was on the brink of breaking down, she decided to stay strong, “Masakit po sa damdamin pero kailangan ko maging malakas, kasi kailangan po ako ng anak ko. Ako ang magtatanggol sa kanya, hindi niya din deserve ang nanay na magbe-breakdown sa harap niya,” Hiedie shared.

Afiara is an eight-year-old first grader who was born prematurely. When she was still a baby, she went through an operation for her cleft lip. She was also diagnosed with mild autism, Mommy Hiedie shared. 

Afiara went through long and rigorous therapies over the years. After r eceiving a go-signal from the doctor, they decided to enroll her to a regular school. But because she is getting older, Afiara started to ask lots of questions about her physical appearance. 

“Lagi po niyang sinasabi, ‘Why am I different? Why I talk like this?’ And unang pinagcocompare-an niya ay ‘yung mga siblings niya. Bakit raw po siya iba. Pero pumasok lang po yun sa isip niya noong nag face-to-face classes po siya. Nakiki-cooperate siya sa mga school activities online, nung eto lang face-to-face, ayaw na niyang mag-on ng camera. Ang feeling ko din po, siguro may naririnig siya na, ‘Bakit ganyan ang itsura niya?’

Hiedie then decided that Afiara will not attend on-site classes for the meantime. In the video, an exchange between them was shown again, “You look pretty, okay?”, Hiedie assured Afiara. 

But she asked again, “Why did I born like that?”

“No, you are born pretty. You are normal, you are born pretty. Yes? Afiara, Yes?” Hiedie continued to affirm and remind her. 

'Kailangan tayo po yung mapakita sa kanila na hindi po sila naiiba. Para 'pag nasa labas sila, kahit anong ibato nila, hindi ma-fi-feel na na-offend sila.' -Hiedie Mamauag

Thanks to the beauty of social media, Afiara gets a boost of confidence from the comments Hiedie's account receives. “Malaking tulong po yung comments ng mga netizens, lagi ko po yun pinapabasa sa kanya. Natutuwa siya, parang na-boost din ang confidence niya.” 

Mommy Hieids reminds other parents, “Magpakatatag po tayo, yung mga anak natin, sa atin din po kumukuha ng lakas. Kailangan tayo po yung mapakita sa kanila na hindi po sila naiiba. Para 'pag nasa labas sila, kahit anong ibato nila, hindi ma-fi-feel na na-offend sila.”

She gave her daughter a touching message toward the end of the video. “Afiara, maging mabait ka lang palagi, maging strong ka palagi. Tsaka you are pretty. You are beautiful, anak. Yes?”

And finally, Afiara agreed, “Okay.”

With Hiedie and Afirara's story, we are reminded to always be kind with our words, especially to kids. And let’s continue to teach our kids that different is not ‘weird’, whether within themselves or towards other people.