The pandemic has brought Derek Ramsay closer to his teenage son Austin.
Stuck at home during the quarantine, the two were able to bond and discover more things about each other.
"Now, Austin and I, especially in the pandemic, have built a much better relationship with one another," Derek said in an exclusive interview with PEP.ph (Philippine Entertainment Portal) at his home in Muntinlupa City last Friday, February 26, 2021.
Derek is a cool dad who treats his son like his best friend. He picked up this parenting style from his own parents, Derek Ramsay Sr. and Remedios Ramsay.
The 44-year-old celebrity dad revealed, "I'm the same way my parents are. My parents treat me and I treat them as my best friends.
"I always said na my dad is my best friend and my mom is my protector. And they brought me up in a way if I have a problem or if there's anything on my mind, I run to them.
"I feel comfortable running to them. And that's how I bring up Austin. I treat him like my buddy, my best friend."
Despite this, Derek noted the importance of drawing the line between being his son's parent and best friend.
"At the same time, I lay the rules down. I'm not a strict father but there are certain rules that he has to follow."
Derek explained, "If there are things that he does and he's wrong, there's always repercussions for your actions.
"He does get grounded every now and then but it's not like iyong papagalitan mo. It's like, 'Buddy, you're grounded, I hope you understand.'
"I'm that kind of parent. But if he really goes way out of the line, that's when I put my foot down. But that rarely happens."
INSTILLING FILIPINO VALUES
Austin, who turns 18 years old on June 28, 2021, grew up with his mom Mary Christine Jolly in Dubai.
Derek said, "The thing with Austin is that he came into my life when he was 14 so there are things he's already, I guess, used to living in another country."
Now that he is able to spend time with his son, Derek has been teaching Austin how Filipinos value respect.
He said, "For me, respect is a very, very important thing that I teach him. He has to have respect for others, respect for elders."
View this post on Instagram
He is also trying to instill the Filipino value of having "close family ties."
"It's definitely far from the Filipino upbringing where family is the most important thing. So when I say me and my family, we really want him to get a sense of family and make him feel na if there's anything he needs or if anything's bothering him, he can run to me."
He continued, "I didn't want to change his ways. No disrespect to the mother but when he came to live with me, I wanted him to feel like how... Kami we're very tight, e.
"Our family is very tight-knit so I wanted him to feel that and give importance to that.
"And in Dubai, you can easily get lost to being materialistic, because, you know, Dubai is a beautiful place, but let's be honest, right?
"Everything is man-made. It's a beautiful place that showcases the talent of human beings in engineering, with all these beautiful things.
"And what do you do when you go to Dubai? Di ba you go shopping? I wanted him to get to know the other side of life and his roots, which is more family and Filipino culture... which he wasn't used to.
"Now, he's loving it. He had the opportunity to go to Dubai and he chose to stay here. So he's beginning to like it."