Filipino parents are often hesitant to discuss contraception and other sex-related topics to their children. Perhaps this is why a woman’s tweets about her mother who taught her about safe sex have gone viral since appearing online on Monday.
Twitter user January Danielle Sanchez (@warysanchhh) paid tribute to her mother in a couple of tweets.
The 22-year-old said that her mother taught her how to take birth control pills when she found out that she was dating her boyfriend, a fellow named Vrix.
“[M]y mom brought home condoms for my brother when he started college and she taught me how to use birth control pills when she found out that I was dating [V]rix,” Sanchez wrote in a mix of English and Filipino.
“Instead of her scolding us, [she thought] it was better for her to teach us instead how to do it (sex) safely.”
Sanchez was so grateful to her mother who she called her “hero.”
my mom brought home condoms for my brother when he started college and she taught me how to use birth control pills when she found out na kami na ni vrix. imbis raw na pagalitan kami eh pwede namang turuan niya nalang daw kami how to do it safely. my hero.
— wifey (@warysanchhh) June 10, 2019
In a follow-up tweet, Sanchez joked: “So for those who say I will get pregnant at an early age because I’m some kind of a flirt, excuse me I’m still a flirt but at least my mother educated me about birth control!”
kaya para sa mga nagsasabing maaga ako mabubuntis dahil malandi ako, eXCUSE ME malandi parin naman ako pero at least ineducate ako ng nanay ko about birth control !!! 😜
— wifey (@warysanchhh) June 10, 2019
Sanchez’s first tweet has gone viral, with 3,200 retweets and more than 27,000 likes as of this article’s posting.
Many netizens voiced their approval of her mother’s parenting skills.
@toneebeck wrote: “Your mom did the right thing. I gave the same advice to my girls. To prevent unwanted pregnancies, it’s better to educate daughters.”
Your mom did the right thing. I gave the same advice sa mga girls ko. To prevent unwanted pregnancies, better na ma educate ng maayos ang mga anak na babae 😊😊 #ParentingDoneRight #parenthood
— ToneeBee (@toneebeck) June 11, 2019
@kasandra089 wrote: “That’s how it has to be these days. If the school won’t teach them, parents have to do the talk.”
Progressive mom. Thats how it has to be these days. If the school wont teach them, parents have to do the talk 😳
— KZ (@kasandra089) June 11, 2019
It was only in August last year that the Department of Education approved a comprehensive sex education program for primary and secondary high schools and some are still skeptical if this could be implemented fully.
Prior to that, in 2016, no less than the United Nations Population Fund said that sex education in Philippine schools “leaves something to be desired,” reported Rappler.
@itsColleenGara said Sanchez’s mother did the right thing.
“More moms should definitely teach their children about birth control. Plus the planet’s too overpopulated so it’s killing two birds with one stone,” she wrote.
Your Mom did the right thing. More moms should definitely teach their children about birth control.
Plus the planet’s too overpopulated so it’s killing two birds with one stone, CHAR
— コリーン (•ω•) (@itsColleenGara) June 11, 2019
@angeLjmie agreed with what Sanchez’s mother did.
“Would do the same to my two boys. Consent first, then safe sex,” she wrote.
Would do the same to my two boys. Consent first, then safe sex.
— angeljme (@angeLjmie) June 11, 2019
But there were people who did not agree with what Sanchez’s mother did, such as @bungay_geline who wrote: “Seriously? You’re giving a wrong signal, my child? I would not allow you [to have sex] if you were my child.”
Seriously? You’re giving a wrong signal anak?di ako papayag pag anak kita😞
— Evangeline Bungay (@bungay_geline) June 11, 2019
In an interview with Coconuts Manila, Sanchez told us the story of how her mother first taught her how to use contraceptive pills, which happened two years ago when her mother learned that she was seeing her boyfriend after she stayed the night at his condominium.
“The day after that, we were on our way to church [and] she brought it up and was surprisingly calm about it … when I was in college I was not allowed to stay overnight even at a friend’s house,” Sanchez said.
“She just said ‘Are you dating? Make sure you take pills,'” Sanchez said.
Their mother told Sanchez and her younger brother, who was 18 years old then, that they should practice safe sex.
“When we got home she showed me her pills … [and] she said ‘Take one after your period then take one every day. Don’t forget. Use an alarm.’ Then we had a lengthy discussion about going to an OB [Gyne], having a consultation, that sort of stuff.”
“Since then, every time she goes to the drugstore … she remembers to buy me pills. One time, she brought home four boxes because we needed two each,” Sanchez said.
A lot of Filipinos have to pay for contraception using their own money, like Sanchez and her mother. The Reproductive Health Law of 2012 aims to provide universal access to contraceptives but has not been fully implemented because its enforcement depends on the will and personal beliefs of local government and health officials.
Her mother also provided condoms to her older brother.
“My mom works in a medical/dental department of a government agency so one day they were giving away free condoms in the office and she brought some for my brother,” Sanchez said.
“Of course my brother was so shocked. [He said] ‘What’s this, Ma? I don’t need this!” To which she replied, ‘You will need that one day, just keep it.'”
Her mother’s teachings proved so effective that her younger brother bought condoms on his own.
“Just recently, my mom was cleaning up my younger brother’s bag when she found a condom. We all started teasing him and he laughed it off. My mom just said, ‘That’s ok. It’s good that you’re being safe.'”
It was important for Sanchez’s mother to teach her kids about safe sex because she got pregnant in her early 20s. Her mom didn’t receive a lot of guidance from her own mother because they lived far apart.
Sanchez plans to follow her mother’s lead and teach safe sex to her own kids one day.
“When my mom educated me about safe sex, I knew that she wasn’t pushing me to have sex. I knew that she was helping me [learn] how I could take care of my body and make informed decisions. And that’s something that I want to pass on to my children, so I can protect them from abuse or unwanted pregnancies.”
How did you learn about safe sex? Tell us by leaving a comment below or tweeting to @CoconutsManila.
