Two Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) based in Abu Dhabi are proud parents to their son who can already read, count to 50, and knows the planets at the early age of two.
Baby Matt Adriel “Drei” Pinpin-Pallan showed his love for learning as early as he was 18 months old.
Born in January 2020, baby Drei can speak out the phonics of each letter of the alphabet, count to ten in Spanish, count up to 50 in English and even knows the difference between “in, on, at.”
He also knows the the days of the week, months of the year, and the planets of the Solar System.
At one-year-old, he already memorized names of different animals, colors and shapes.
“Mahilig po sya sa math, music and reading. He can sing the whole songs po,” shared baby Drei’s mom, Alyssa Suba Pinpin.
His parents also said that he is very good in memorization and is very focused when being taught.
His father, Matthew Paulino Pallan, said that unlike other kids who prefers cartoons, baby Drei enjoys watching educational shows online.
“He is very interested po sa mga books. Hindi sya yung mahilig sa mga toys. At the age of 1 yr and 7months, he can count na po,” said Pallan.
Baby Drei’s mom, Alyssa Suba Pinpin, a nurse based in Abu Dhabi shared in an interview with The Filipino Times that at first, she was worried as baby Drei seemed withdrawn and preoccupied with other things.
“Actually, nurse po kasi ako. So napansin ko kay Drei na masyado syanh focus sa ibang bagay. As a mom po, super na paparanoid ako. Kasi madami ako nababasa about autism. So, sabi ko we will try to send him sa school,” said Pinpin.
However, baby Drei got too sickly that he was not able to continue with schooling.
“Nag-start sya mag-school last Aug 2021. Pero dahil sguro hndi sya laging lumalabas, mahina yung immune system nya. So madalas nagkakasakit sya ng flu. 3 months sya sa school, pero yung total of days na napasok nya is parang 45 days lang,” said Pinpin.
Despite not being able to return to school, baby Drei still kept showing evident signs of his love for learning.
“You will see po na he loves reading and books talaga. Kahit san po sya magpunta, even nung nag vacation kami sa Pinas,” said Pinpin.
“Nagulat na lang po kami one day, he is trying na spell out yung mga words na nakasulat sa shirt namin,” shared Baby Drei’s parents.
The parents of the two-year-old said that they feel blessed knowing that their son is learning things quickly and in advance.
“Blessed! Very thankful to God. A very priceless gift for us. It makes us more motivated to grow as a couple to provide more than he needs and prepare the way for him, whatever path he may choose,” said Pallan.
When TFT asked what could be the secret to baby Drei’s advanced learning capabilities, his dad’s answered a popular opinion which is his mom having to eat green leafy vegetables while pregnant with baby Drei.
“I think it is more on how his mother and grandmother took care of him. Since pinagbubuntis po sya, no junk food at processed food talaga si nanay nya. Tiniis po nya yun,” said Pallan.
Their tip for other parents, have a sleeping and waking routine that children can easily follow and make sure to incorporate fruits and vegetables in your child’s diet.
Pinpin and Pallan are from Mabalacat, Pampanga but originally hails from Tarlac and Negros Occidental, respectively.
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