Leaders of the band: Dads bond with kids during circuit breaker
They use work-from-home period to spend time with family, from helping with schoolwork to baking
With Covid-19 grounding many working adults, some fathers have been cherishing the circuit breaker and work-from-home advisories that have allowed them to spend more time with their children.
Mr Kelvin Ang, 43, a financial planner and council member of Families for Life (FFL), got to better understand his three kids aged 10, 14 and 15.
Before the circuit breaker, Mr Ang would interact with them only during dinner, after work.
Now, the family bonds over breakfast, lunch and dinner.
"We got closer as we tried to dispel boredom together. We played board games, followed exercise videos and even experimented with baking," he said.
"During those months, my wife and I took the chance to try to understand our two older teenage sons more. During their home-based learning (HBL) and gaming sessions, I got to listen to how they speak with their friends.
"And the children learn more about us, asking us what we do at work and what our meetings were about."
Meanwhile, Mr Alvin Foo, 40, and his family filmed and edited a heart-warming video for the online series #FriendsofFFLShare which was uploaded onto FFL's Facebook page last month.
It stars his four-year-old son Jeremiah and shows how the circuit breaker period is seen through the eyes of a child.
In the video, the boy said he loves seeing his parents "all the time now" and enjoys exercising with Mr Foo, whose youngest son is nine months old.
Mr Foo, who holds a regional commercial role for a dental company, travelled overseas for work 50 per cent to 60 per cent of the time before Covid-19 struck.
He said: "The circuit breaker was a good opportunity for us to spend quality family time together. I took annual leave so I didn't have to get on calls and I could spend time with my kids ."
For Mr Shawn Quek, 41, a full-time staff member at Centre For Fathering (CFF), working from home and helping his eight-year-old son with HBL was "quite a deadly combination".
He said: "From the second week onwards, I reflected on myself. I sat down with my wife and we worked out a schedule."
Mr Quek bonded with his son and five-year-old daughter in various ways, from watching live streams on the DadsForLife.sg Facebook page to dancing to music videos.
Although he will be returning to the office on Sunday to run a Father's Day live stream event organised by CFF, the family plans to celebrate the occasion over dinner when he gets home.
"Without the circuit breaker, these family bonding activities would not have happened," he said.
Get The New Paper on your phone with the free TNP app. Download from the Apple App Store or Google Play Store now