News & Events Events Buzz Celebrating Dads for Life 2nd Anniversary - An Interview with Richard Seow, Chairman, Fathers Action Network
Two years ago, the Fathers Action Network and Dads for Life movement were newly formed and brimming with ideas -- from supporting Big Brother programmes for fatherless children and holding sports competitions on weekends so more parents would be able to attend them, to distributing toolkits, publishing fatherhood stories and working with employers to spread good parenting attitudes.
Two years on, the report card is positive; Mr Seow is a pleased man.
"You don't need to stand on the road for long before you see a Dads for Life decal!" he smiles. More importantly, he says, Dads for Life has grown different programmes, such as Fathers@Schools, that are welcomed by fathers, students, and mothers alike. "It is a good programme that must continue to flourish!" he declares. "And we've had two very successful conferences -- a research conference and a conference for social workers, counsellors and global experts to share best practices."
"A lot has happened in these two years -- the Dads for Life Secretariat and the members on the Fathers Action Network have all been wonderful in putting together different programmes for the schools, the marketplace and general public," he says. "They've been terrific, and the volunteerism, energy, effort and passion has been heartfelt because it's a cause that we all believe in and can relate to."
Enjoying the Process of Fatherhood
One need only look at Mr Seow's collection of photographs to realise that this is a father who is definitely passionate about being involved in his own children's lives -- and passionate about having fun! He points to his hard disk. "I have 233,000 photos here!" the avid photographer laughs.
He clicks on some photos and smiles at the changing images on the screen; this is his daughter performing in a band concert, he tells us, and these are his sons at their rugby matches.
Two photographs stand out: there's a close-up shot of his oldest son on the field when he first started playing rugby, a young boy with cheeks rosy from running -- and another close-up shot of the same boy, now a muscular young man, caught mid-shout on the rugby field, "and he's taller than me now!" Mr Seow chuckles. "I watch them grow, and I take photographs to keep as a record," he says, with a tinge of wistfulness.
"As a father, my biggest enjoyment is watching my kids perform at concerts, and play sports - I watch them handle victory and defeat - and then be there for them when they need me," he says. It is an enjoyment that he wants other parents to experience as well, which is why he continues to push for more sports competitions to be held on weekends, so that more parents can watch their children perform.
In the same vein, Dads for Life has initiated and supported an array of programmes that encourage father-child bonding, and for fathers to be more involved in their children's education, for example, through the Fathers@School programmes that organise father-child activities in over 120 participating primary, secondary, special education and pre-schools, the National Library Board's '10,000 Fathers Reading' initiative to get fathers to read to their children, and the various camps and bowling courses for fathers and children.
Looking Out for Other People's Children
Acknowledging that not all parents are as involved in their children's lives, Mr Seow pointed out that "keen fathers need to be the initiators", hopefully spreading their influence with time. "We can be the role models for other fathers on the periphery, who see that we are giving up time to be with our children", says Mr Seow, who is also the chairman of the board of governors of Anglo-Chinese School and Republic Polytechnic, and Chairman of the Singapore Sports Council.
Even at his children's sports matches or performances, he tries his best to take photographs of all the other players and performers, and then uploads the photographs for them and their parents. "Sometimes if I don't upload the photos after a day, they will ask me, Uncle why so slow?" he laughs.
Mr Seow especially feels for the children with absent fathers, again highlighting the possibility of Big Brother Clubs, or having uncles, brothers, grandfathers or sports coaches acting as father-figure. "Many coaches I know are also counsellors; they are authoritative and teach the children how to behave," he says, citing some anecdotal cases of sports coaches who successfully encouraged their players to work hard.
Widening their reach and scope is something the Fathers Action Network may do in the next lap, he says, though he also emphasises that he would not want the group's energies to be spread too thin. "We're not the Centre for Fathering" he points out, "but we are an enabler, a leveraging network, and we will help different groups with funding, facilitation and people."
"The Fathers Action Network members have diverse backgrounds, and they may choose to focus on different areas, for example, on children whose parents are in prison, absent fathers, families at risk, or children with learning disabilities," he says. "We've done a lot in two years, but there still is a lot more that can be done."
About the Author: The Dads for Life Resource Team comprises local content writers and experts, including psychologists, counsellors, educators and social service professionals, dedicated to developing useful resources for dads.
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