Ever since I learned about Kidzania opening here in the Philippines I have always been interested as I am sure the little man will most definitely have a great experience there. As of press time, 80% of its 10,000 square meters of indoor space has already been completed and the Filipino kids will get to experience this awesome place at the Bonifacio Global City in Taguig in a few months. Recently KidZania Manila celebrated its Industry Partner Day at the Hotel Intercontinental Manila in Makati City, and I was fortunate to be among the invited bloggers to witness the momentous occasion.
KidZania is the global leader in children’s educational entertainment, and everyone is excited that they are bringing the ultimate role playing experience to our country this 2015! Among those who are instrumental in bringing this indoor play city to life in the Philippines are more than 40 of our country’s leading and respected brands. These brands signed up as Industry Partners, sealing their commitments towards achieving the goal of helping kids learn how to build a better world.
the representatives of the KidZania Manila dedicated Industry Partners
The highlight of the ceremony was the introduction and the tribute made for the Industry Partners. More than 100 officials that represents the different Industry Partners were present, everyone celebrating the wonderful play experience the Filipino kids are about to experience. The Industry Partners, with their different expertise in different industries, help achieve the goal of making each part of the massive indoor play area as close to reality as possible, providing children with truly engaging activities, as well as with skills that they can use in real life.
According to Maricel Pangilinan-Arenas, State Governor for KidZania Philippines: “We want kids to imagine, to play and have fun, enjoying the amazing role play experiences at KidZania Manila. They will learn, as they play, about the varied, interesting roles and establishments that collaborate and serve to create a good community. Our Industry Partners contribute significantly to make the KidZania Manila experience as authentic and meaningful as possible for the children who will visit our play city. With their years of knowledge and expertise, they help enrich the educational entertainment value of the KidZania concept.”
I only managed to bring my child to the dentist once {you can read about our experience in this post here} and since I was told that my little man will have to be sedated to have his teeth cleaned, I backed out and decided for Jared to have his chompers checked out when he is a bit older and can easily handle the stress and the trauma. I was taken aback by the sedative which my son has to take and prayed since then to find a better and healthier dental service that will not involve sedating little children while cleaning their milk teeth. I was actually on the look out for another pediatric dentist to bring my son for teeth cleaning this summer so he will have clean, white teeth in time for school this June. Although I’ve already found local pediatric dentists in our city, I am still undecided thinking they’d just offer the same treatment that includes sedative and other medicine until I got an invite to visit the Green Apple Dental/MRC Clinic.
Dr. Urbi explaining how bad oral habits damage a child’s face
Green Apple Dental/MRC Clinic, a first of its kind in the Philippines, is a brainchild of Davao-based orthodontics maverick, Dr. Gamaliel Urbi. He pioneers Myobrace Orthodontics in the country and is frequently asked to give talks about Myofunctional Orthodontics in different countries in Asia. Dr. Gamaliel is also the owner of the local MRC Clinic franchise. MRC Clinic or Myofunctional Research Clinic is an Australian-based dental concept technology that introduces innovative and holistic ways of improving dental and facial development of growing children ages 5 to 15. This one-of-a-kind dental clinic opened its first branch in 2009 and currently has 4 branches nationwide, located in different Ayala Malls in Cagayan de Oro, Cebu, Davao, and Trinoma Mall in Quezon City.
A Healthier Dental Care
Dr. Urbi talks about his niche + his passion to help children with dental problems
Listening to Dr. Urbi talk about their holistic dental care and the fascinating stories of the children patients, and their dramatic transformation illustrated by photographs, he has treated over the years is simply an eye-opener. I must admit, I did have a limited idea of how dental hygiene will impact the lives of our children. I thought it was as simple as keeping the teeth healthy so the children won’t have to endure annoying toothaches, painful dental treatments, expensive procedures, or worse, an embarrassing tooth loss. I overlooked that unhealthy teeth can also be a primary reason for facial deformation, as well as in children having low self-esteem and confidence.
a number of children treated at the Green Apple Dental/MRC Clinic
It was also very interesting to find out that Dr. Urbi’s treatment include a whole lot more in the process than merely cleaning children’s teeth, giving them orthodontic medicine and installing braces. In fact, there was never a time he mentioned they sedate children even while during oral prophylaxis. For mums like me who are weary of having these medicine in our children’s body, it sure is quite a relief to find a dental clinic that do away with sedatives and the like.
The revolutionary treatment Green Apple Dental offers includes teaching children to breath through the nose. Most mums are unaware that a lot of children are mouth-breathers and have learned to practice it through a number of different reasons including poor nutrition and bad posture. Even the practice of giving pacifiers to little babies can also result to them being mouth-breathers when they grow older, which in turn can pose a number of health issues and problems. Little did we know that our mouths are not really designed for breathing, and when children breathe through their mouths, they also inhale pollutants and allergens in their surrounding directly to their lungs, which in turn can make them sensitive and sickly and susceptible to a number of diseases. It is a healthy practice to keep the mouth closed and breathe through the nose, as our noses, with its natural filters called cilia, are designed to help us take the air in without inhaling the dirt around us. Can you imagine that by simply teaching our children the proper way of breathing through the nose, they become healthier, with straighter teeth and nicer-looking faces, too?
Green Apple Dental teaches children the Buteyko Breathing Method, developed by the Russian respiratory specialist Dr Konstantin Buteyko. Apart from helping children get improved facial appearances and straighter teeth, it also provides benefits for people with asthma, diabetes, hormonal disorders, migraine, hypertension and digestive disorders.
ActiveFun is one of the little man’s happy places, so it is no surprise that when I told him about our invite for the new branch opening at SM Megamall’s Fashion Hall he was truly excited! It has been a while since we have been to Mega Mall considering its distance from our place so I thought the invite is just the perfect excuse to go there again and it is also about the perfect time to pay this mall a visit once more and see what has changed since we’ve been here last.
The SM Mega Mall branch of ActiveFun is situated at the recently-opened SM Fashion Hall, where the Ice Rink and a lot of another new shops are situated. It has a capacity of 150 kids with the play area further subdivided into several fun sections namely See Saws, Ball Pit, Mini Slide, Building Blocks at the Toddler Section and the Slide, Trampoline, Ball Fountain, Swings, Airguns, Hanging Bridge and Tunnels found at the Play Frame. This new branch boasts of a very exciting Ocean Fun Adventure theme, as well as of equally interesting attractions such as the Water Bed, Shark Tube, Rocking Chair, the Revolving Tunnel, Mini Ball Fountain, LED Ball Pool and Fun & Learn Panels.
the magic showthe very lively program host with a bunch of kiddos including the little man 🙂
The Opening Ceremony includes a fun program where mums and kids were treated to an exciting magic show, fun games for both the kids and the kids-at-heart and a number of exciting raffles, too! Snacks were also served, along with tasty desserts found at the very charming dessert buffet set up. There were also exciting booths the children can participate in, including the Art workshop and the photo booth. The little man participated in one of the games and won himself a pack of Goody Gulp drinks! We also had our photos taken at the booth where Jared put on a number of masks, including this cool Iron Man mask!
Of course, the little man did not leave this branch without giving their play area a go. Before the program was even finished he requested if he can enter the play area to get some well-deserved playtime. This mum is more than happy to oblige!
