Parents' love is unconditional: 'I'm not ashamed to profess my love for them'

Aged care worker James Makalintal considers himself fortunate with his parents being accepting of his gender. He shows no shame in professing his love for them.

No distance between parents and children can hinder their love for one another. Credit: Supplied by James Makalintal

Key Points

• During the pandemic, 650,000 Australian families were separated from their 1.3 million children.
• It is considered that there is nothing greater than the love of a parent for their child.
• James Makalintal feels lucky for his parents accept him regardless of his gender.

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JAMES MAKALINTAL on parents unconditional love for children FINAL

Parents love is unconditional: 'I'm not ashamed to be profess my love for them'

43:28

They say there is nothing greater than the love of a parent for their child. The first kind of love that every child learns and shapes their personality.

James Makalintal, a native of Batangas, Philippines, knows too well how lucky he is having no hard time revealing to his parents that is 'gay'.

In fact, he was only in primary school when he realised his being feminine.

James (left) is now happily married with husband, Ryan (right) whose mum (middle) is very supportive of their marriage. Credit: Supplied by James Makalintal

"Honestly I didn't have a 'coming-out' experience. I already know at a very young age that I was gay. Probably I was in first grade," shares the aged care facility senior operations manager.

James' dad was a former member of the Philippine Air Force, while his mum is an overseas Filipino worker in Italy.

Although James is used to his parents being away a lot when he was growing up, they would often spend time together on the most important occasions in their lives like birthdays and Christmas.

James Makalintal (middle) is used to being with his parents in particular during special occasions like birthdays and Christmas. It has been nearly 7 years now since he has been with his mum and dad together. Credit: James Makalintal (on Facebook)

At a young age, James has been experiencing anxiety, but given the aggregate effects of the COVID-pandemic, being away from his parents and the feeling of sadness, he has been dealing with severe anxiety recently.

With the mental health issue he is facing right now, daily online conversations with his parents, in particular with his dad, help him a lot.

"Even with the distance, I make sure that I message him and I tell him I love him and I'm never ashamed of saying it straight to my dad."

Despite being away from his parents, their support reaches him well. And for this he is very grateful and he's never ashamed to openly show his love for his parents.

"I'm very grateful of my mum as she has sacrificed her being a mother and went abroad just so she can help provide everything for me."

"They wanted to give me a better life, have a good future and they gave me everything and I am very grateful of that."

How to listen to this podcast. Credit: SBS Filipino