Valentine's Day has traditionally been celebrated by couples and defined by romantic love. However, the Date with Dad event held on 12 February 2011 was a pleasant exception. The event saw young ladies ranging from the ages of 8-25 go on a special date with their dad.

Organised by Focus on the Family, Singapore, the inaugural Date with Dad held in 2009 was a roaring success. This year was of course no exception.

Held in Iluka Seaview Dining at Changi Beach Club, the gorgeous sea view provided the perfect ambience for a father and daughter date. Pictures of each father and daughter pair were taken at the door, and they all went home with polaroid photographs as souvenirs.

The initial stage games proved to be a hit. One game required dads to paint their daughters' nails while another game called for daughters to knot a necktie for their dads.

There were laughter and smiles all around as participants watched the games unfold. Participants also enjoyed an Apple Waldorf Salad while watching a short clip on how a daughter yearned for her father's love.

While enjoying their main course of Crabmeat Aglio Olio, father and daughter engaged in some conversation starters. Each father and daughter pair was given a different envelope with questions to help them discover more about each other.

Some of the questions were intensely personal such as: "What makes you cry?", while others, for example: "What is the most expensive and frivolous thing you ever bought?" were more lighthearted.

A big surprise was in store for dad Chim Kok Keong, whose daughter Joanne surprised him on stage with a song performance.

Said Mr Chim, "I was more than surprised - really delighted actually. Joanne has always been quite fearful of being on stage."

As for Joanne, she only had one goal in mind, to do this for her dad.
"When I was approached to do a surprise item, I was very open to the idea," said the self-assured 16-year-old. "Although I was a little nervous on stage, I wanted to do it because it was something special I could do for my dad,"

While over their dessert of Tiramisu, each father and daughter pair were also asked to write a letter to each other, something they always wanted to say but didn’t know how to. It was a heartwarming sight to see them bent over their slips of paper, penning messages to each other.

"The letter writing was very memorable. It lets us say things from the bottom of our hearts," said Mr Joseph Seah, who had tears in his eyes during the letter writing segment. "I was overwhelmed by the responsibility of being a dad. It brings me so much joy. Writing and reading the letters brought me back to the times when my daughter was young and how she’s grown from that to what she is now."

Some dads and daughters were so moved by the letter writing segment that they volunteered to come on stage to share what they wrote. All of them were of messages of love and reassurance. One girl ended off her letter with a touching message: "I'm not the perfect daughter, and I can never be. But I can be the perfect daughter for you."

Following that came the highly anticipated father’s pledge and Purity Ring presentation. Fathers solemnly recited a pledge promising to live their life as a role model for their daughters and to protect them until giving away their daughters in marriage. They then presented a Purity Ring engraved with the words "Worth the Wait" to their daughters, a reminder that they were precious and worth waiting for until marriage.

"The type of man a girl dates in the future is influenced by the relationship the daughter has with her father. If the father treats her right and sets the expectation for her on sexual purity and how a man should be treating his daughter, the daughter also learns to value herself in her future relationships," said Joyce Too, Senior Manager of Focus on the Family, Singapore.

The afternoon was rounded off nicely with a leisurely stroll by the boardwalk, where fathers could spend some time with their daughters enjoying the sea breeze. It was certainly a picturesque end to the afternoon and most importantly, for all the daughters, the take home message from their fathers was, "I will be always be there for you."

 

Read more about the benefits of dating your children in our local celeb, Zheng Ge Ping's Article.

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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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