Joyce Pring's Beautiful Advice To Parents Of Two: 'Brace Yourself'

A question posed recently in the Smart Parenting Village Facebook community reads, "Paano niyo nalaman na ready na kayo for baby #2?"

While some parents replied that they planned the age gap and wanted to be completely ready for the arrival of a second child, others just found themselves surprised with a positive pregnancy test result!

For celebrity parents Joyce Pring and Juancho Trivino, who got pregnant around the time their firstborn Eliam just turned one, we couldn't imagine what it was like to have two under two.

On two separate occasions, Smart Parenting had the chance to check in on them and see how they are coping with their family of four.

Juancho Trivino on being a dad of two: 'It's wonderful'

At the GMA Gala 2024, we caught up with Juancho, and he shared that so far, it has been a wonderful experience being a dad of two.

"Hindi pa kaya ng vocabulary ko i-explain yung nararamdaman ko sa pagiging dad. It's wonderful, it has been a dream come true, I guess," he shared.

He had nothing but kind words for his wife, whom he says has been an amazing parenting partner.

^{Actor and dad of two Juancho Trivino at the GMA Gala 2024}

"It's the best. I've recently just talked to her and applauded her because she has been an amazing workmate with our household. She's allowing me to be myself and wala akong mahingi pang iba sa kanya. She has been amazing, and dream come true din to have a wife like that," he added.

Juancho, who is also preoccupied with tapings, ensures that he is attuned with his kids' milestones. He shared, "Aggy, my youngest daughter, she has been very interactive now, and Eliam, siguro, learning how to potty. Potty training has been amazing. As silly as it may sound, sa successful attempts niya, na-teary eyed ako nung nakita ko yung success of what him and Joyce has been up to recently."

Having two young kids, Juancho shared, calls them to become intentional in their decisions and actions as parents. But they make sure that they carve out time for each other, to go on dates even at least once a week.

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A post shared by Joyce Pring-Trivin?o (@joycepring)

One of the things that he does regularly with Joyce is to work out together. 

How Joyce Pring, Juancho Trivino manage to workout together 

Joyce explained how they were able to make it possible, despite having their hands full.

"Well, first, it's a change of perspective. I used to think that working out, and you know, carving time for myself is selfish because I'm out and away from my children. But then I realized it's actually a selfless thing because I'm doing it really so that I can be healthy and strong not only for myself but also for my family. For me, it's really that. It's a change in perspective, and it's really carving out that schedule to be there and make sure that it's consistent," the host and podcaster shared at the launch of the TCL Free Built-In Refrigerator at Azadore Restaurant on July 23.

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A post shared by Joyce Pring-Trivin?o (@joycepring)

For Joyce and Juancho, every 9 in the morning is their sacred schedule for working out. It's only an hour, and sometimes, they have to adjust to 30 minutes if parenting duties call.

"Brace yourself, it's going to be very difficult. But brace yourself for the greatest adventure of your life, because it's the most beautiful thing to see your firstborn fall in love also with their sibling." —Joyce Pring Trivino

"You have to be realistic, 'di ba? Kapag busy yung bahay, minsan 30 minutes lang 'yung workout mo. As long as I'm moving, that's a good thing," she explained.

"If it's a normal day for us, 1 hour, 9 to 10, that's it. That's all that I take out for myself to work out and we respect that schedule, and we explain it well to our kids naman na Mom and Dada will be away, kasama ko yung husband ko when we work out, we'll just be working out for an hour, then we'll be back."

The first few weeks were not easy, Joyce recalled, where the kids would ask them to stay. But through consistency and their determination, they are able to keep at it, whether it's going to the gym or running around the village. "We're doing it not only for us but also for them," she stressed.

"Always remember that the days are long, but the years are very short. So cherish the moments you have with your kids. Buhatin niyo, yakapin niyo, halikan niyo." —Juancho Trivino

Joyce also shared how she involves her little ones in preparing simple yet healthy meals.

"I [make] very healthy chicken nuggets from scratch, so it's like ground chicken, I put shredded broccoli, shredded carrots there, and then I put it together then bini-bake namin siya into chicken nuggets and my kids love that. Kapag kailangan ko ng mabilis na ulam na healthy pa din, 'pag di ako makakapagluto ng separate gulay, yun nalang yung ginagawa ko para the vegetables are already integrated."

^{Chef Tatung and Joyce Pring discuss their favorite features of the new TCL Free Built-In Refrigerator during the Live Cooking Demo}

She shared, parents don't need to feel pressured that her kids should always excel in whatever tasks they are given, such as chores. "With kids, what I've realized is you just have to find an age-appropriate way for them to be involved. So it's necessarily na magmimix or anything like that, like for Eliam, it's just, 'Okay, I've already mashered it, ida-dump niya nalang. Or for Aggie, she's just there watching. It's really just what my kid is capable of doing that's what he'll do to incorporate in my cooking."

Involving kids in simple chores like cooking teaches them teamwork, boosts their self-esteem, and promote gender equity, experts say.

Joyce Pring, Juancho Trivino's message to parents of two kids

Raising two young children and finding time to pursue their career and passions are indeed inspiring, especially to parents who are planning or expecting to have a second child. 

Joyce shared a beautiful piece of advice, "If you're about to have two kids, my advice for you is to brace yourself. Brace yourself for the first three months, it's going to be very difficult because it's going to be the transitionary period of you from having one kid to two kids, but brace yourself for the greatest adventure of your life, because it's the most beautiful thing to see your firstborn fall in love also with their sibling, to form that bond, and for you to grow as a family to become four, instead of just three. It's the most beautiful thing ever, but it does come with a lot of sacrifices and challenges, but that's what makes it even more perfect."

Meanwhile, Juancho reminds parents of a very important fact—our kids are only young once, and we should cherish them while they are little.

"Always remember that the days are long, but the years are very short. So cherish the moments you have with your kids. Buhatin niyo, yakapin niyo, halikan niyo, because darating ang araw na di na magiging same ang situation," he said.

Read how this mom of two found the time to pursue her passion for the arts, here.