As we all know, Ruffa is now a single mom and her two children with Yilmaz Bektas – Lorin & Venice, now stay with her. The actress says she’s definitely less strict with her girls than her mom Annabelle Rama was while she was growing up. She’s allowing her two daughters to be their own person so that they can explore their full potential. But she says she remains alert as a parent, especially when it comes to monitoring her kids’ internet use and usage of modern digital devices.

It’s true that parents who belonged to the old school focused more on the strict disciplining of their kids and their achieving high academic grades. But child care experts are now saying focusing on IQ and high grades is not enough.

At the Progress Pre-School Gold forum, Dr. Marissa de Ocampo said it is also important to give emphasis on the development of a child’s memory.

“Intelligence is not just IQ but also memory which is not only remembering information but also applying information properly. Your memory affects your ability to easily retrieve and apply stored information, such as in problem-solving – and the ability to solve problems is often a factor in defining intelligence,” Dr. De Ocampo noted.

Meanwhile,child development expert Dr. Sabrina Tan revealed the triad of success when it comes to development. These are the child’s cognitive, social and emotional skills.

“All three skills are interdependent, interact and factor into each other’s success. A child who develops each of these aspects well has more chances of succeeding in school, in social environments and different endeavors,” Dr. Tan explained.

Progress Pre-School Gold boasts of the GOLD Biofactors System which was formulated based on the latest scientific research, supporting four development areas of a child: mental and visual, growth, immunity and digestion.

The reformulated Progress Pre-School Gold provides at least 100% of the RENI for Vitamin A, iron, Iodine and zinc of children four years and older. It also contains taurine, choline, selenium, oligofructose, nucleotides, vitamin K, inositol and manganese.

Anyway, the first show I watched for PFW 2011 was the Triumph underwear show. It was momentous since Triumph International is celebrating this year its “125 Years of Tailoring Female Shape.” They unveiled two new collections: the luxury line called Triumph Essence and fresh picks from their bestselling Shape Sensation -

Overall, the show had nice pacing and choreography, with gorgeous models giving justice to the lingerie line. Among those sashaying the runway were top models Ornussa Cadness and Sanya Smith who are topbilling FHM’s November 2011 issue.

The show was highlighted by the ramp walk of beauty queen and actress Ruffa Gutierrez but she proved to be so dressed up compared to the rest of ‘em.

After the event, Ruffa – still wearing her Triumph corset – was sidelined by showbiz reporters about the issue involving her in a love triangle with actor John Lloyd Cruz and Shaina Magdayao. Usyosera me overheard her saying: ” If I had a boyfriend, he would not be a Filipino, and especially if he’s a Filipino named John Lloyd Cruz.” Ooh-la-la!

I also saw the beauty clinic heiress Cristalle Belo Henares and was nice to see her much slimmer.

Cristalle Belo when I last saw her at an Oliver Tolentino show in May 2011 –

And now at Philippine Fashion Week 2011.

My friend Maricel was the one who tipped me on this nifty new site called ShopandShare where celebrities like Kris Aquino are putting up their precious designer items on auction to help victims of typhoons Ondoy and Pepeng.

I’ve been eyeing Kris’ LV Stephen Prouse bag myself, but the current bid now is at $3,600 (from a starting bid of only $799).The highest bid now is for Angel Locsin’s Prada Nappa Tote ($4,150, as of this writing.)

Either the ones bidding are avid Ebay shopaholics or simply Good Samaritans. But it’s nice to know that some people won’t hesitate to join an auction for a good cause. Even nicer still that the showbiz personalities we admire are selfless enough to use their face value and pulling power to donate to typhoon victims.

Shop and Share was first conceived by actress and Red Cross Ambassador Angel Locsin. She then gathered the support of her celebrity friends Kris Aquino, Anne Curtis, Ruffa Gutierrez, Luis Manzano and Pokwang for the charitable online venture. Other showbiz stars donating are Kim Chiu, Mariel Rodriguez, Heart Evangelista, Isabelle Daza, Gerald Anderson and Boy Abunda.

Although the landing page is the Shop & Share website, the auctions are being conducted by batch at the Red Cross store in Ebay. Join na!