By Iya Sabrina B. Del Rosario, Grade 5-4
March 4, 2022
The Mother-Daughter Bonding Activity (MDBA) was one of the most awaited and anticipated events in Grade Five. This 20-year-old tradition in Assumption Antipolo is jam-packed with fun-filled activities that intend to promote understanding between mothers and daughters. This year, the MDBA was held on March 4, 2022. It was facilitated by the Guidance Counselors.
The program started with an icebreaker called Energizer, wherein mothers and daughters were asked questions to measure how much they know about each other.
It was a fun way to begin the program as it built up enthusiasm among the participants. After that, the guest speaker, a psychologist, Dr. Mardet Dela Rama, was introduced. She discussed key issues that can affect the dynamics of the mother and daughter’s relationship, such as the daughter’s personal development during her teenage years and the mother’s physical and mental changes due to her advancing age. Afterwards, there was a question-and-answer session with the psychologist. When this concluded, the long-awaited bonding center stations were opened.
Starting with Bonding Station 1, affirmations by both participants were exchanged. These affirmations were made before the event as the participants were asked to briefly write on a small piece of paper what they appreciate about each other. This station helped both mothers and daughters mutually express their gratitude and appreciation.
Moving on to Bonding Station 2, this was where participants shared and prepared snacks for each other. Indeed, a bonding activity over food is always a great idea. This can enable one to forget the stresses of the day, and focus more on winding down.
Next, Bonding Station 3 featured the What If Dialogue. In this station, different scenarios were created to enable the participants to ask each other questions from a range of topics, casual or sensitive, such as death, failures, relationships, and so on. This allowed the participants to open themselves up and just be honest about confusing issues that no one may have yet dared to acknowledge.
Lastly, there was Bonding Station 4. It may be the most popular and enjoyable amongst the bonding centers in MDBA because participants got to paint each other’s nails, fix each other’s hair, and do each other’s make-up. Indeed, this last station promoted the feeling among daughters that their mothers are truly one of their closest friends.
With all these activities done, the participants reflected and came to a realization that they needed this bonding activity more than they thought. MDBA definitely highlighted not only the importance of spending time together but also its benefits. MDBA has allowed the participants to start transforming the strict mother-daughter relationship into a best friend-like relationship, whilst gaining mutual understanding about each other’s perspectives and expectations about anything and everything.
