Father's Day carnival gets dads to spend more time with kids
Losing his mother made him treasure family time more.
Since his mother died last year, Mr Alan Chan, 45, has been making more of an effort to spend time with his father and children.
The father of two takes his children, aged 8 and 11, and 80-year-old father, Mr Robert Chan, out for activities they all can enjoy together, such as fishing and shopping.
"When my mother died, it became a reminder that we need to spend more time together, especially while my father is still active," he said.
Mr Chan, his wife and family were among the multi-generation families at the Singapore Sports Hub yesterday morning to celebrate Father's Day at Dad's Day Out.
The carnival is the highlight of the month-long Celebrating Fathers 2018 Campaign.
The annual event - in its third year - encourages fathers to engage in games, photo-taking and sharing sessions with their families.
This year, for the first time, the event also reached out to grandfathers, with the aim of having each generation build on and learn from the other.
The event was organised by Centre for Fathering - Dads for Life and MediaCorp.
The guest of honour, Speaker of Parliament Tan Chuan-Jin, spoke about his own experience as a father.
BUSY SCHEDULE
The father of two - a son, 16, and daughter, 20 - said that parenting comes with no instruction manual, but it is often the little seemingly menial things like changing diapers and feeding the children that really forges bonds and understanding.
Despite his busy schedule, he said he tries his best to make time for his kids, putting aside a couple of nights a week and every other weekend, if possible.
Mr Tan joked: "I run with my son, and nowadays, he runs faster than me, I cannot keep up any more.
"It makes me feel old."
Mr Tan said that making time for his children is important to him.
"It does not matter what we are doing," he said.
"Sometimes, just being at home and not doing anything, it is your presence that is important."
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