There are some conversations parents spend years imagining but never expect to happen so soon. For transformational life and energy mentor Libni Fortuna, that moment came when her nine-year-old son Kobe walked into her room, took a deep breath, and whispered, "Mom, I'm gay."

"He was nervous," Libni tells Manila Bulletin Lifestyle. "I looked him in the eyes and said, ‘Very good, anak. I'm proud of you. Thank you for telling me.’ Then I hugged him." She remembers feeling his body relax. "He let go of something heavy. There was a shift in him. He felt safe."

In hindsight, Libni realized her response mattered more than having the right answer. At that moment, her son didn't need certainty. He needed to know that home was still a safe place.

Months later, after more conversations with his parents, her son came to a different understanding. Her husband, Remo, asked him follow-up questions. Was he attracted to boys? He said no. He simply enjoyed many of the same things his older sister liked because he had grown up surrounded mostly by women. "That conversation helped him realize that enjoying things traditionally associated with girls doesn't necessarily define who he is," she says.

For Libni, this wasn't the biggest lesson. The experience reinforced the importance of giving children the freedom to ask questions and discover themselves without rushing to labels. "I want them to feel free to discover themselves, ask questions, and express who they are without feeling pressured to fit into a label before they're ready."

She now sees childhood as a season of curiosity. Children are constantly exploring the world around them, trying different interests, asking difficult questions, and making sense of themselves. Sometimes their understanding changes, and sometimes it remains the same. Either way, she believes parents don't need to have every answer immediately.

"My role isn't to tell him who he is. It's to love him, guide him, and ask the right questions instead of making assumptions," she says. Libni admits there was a brief moment when years of religious and cultural conditioning surfaced. "There was a small flinch. Not rejection, but the residue of how I was raised."

Instead of allowing fear to take over, she chose to pause. "I noticed it. I acknowledged it. But I didn't let it lead."

For Libni, parenting is about creating an environment where they feel comfortable asking difficult questions. "Our children don't need us to have all the answers. They need to know that whatever question they have, whatever season they're in, they can always come home and talk to us without fear of being judged or rejected."

She believes in the importance of emotional safety. At home, dinner together is a daily ritual. Feelings are discussed openly. Mistakes become conversations instead of lectures. Curiosity is welcomed instead of dismissed. This consistency made it easier for her son to come to her when he was confused.

She hopes her children will always remember that home was the place where they never had to hide. "At the end of the day, the greatest gift we can give our children isn't telling them who they should be. It's creating a home where they feel safe enough to discover who they are, while knowing they'll always be deeply loved."