Dads for Life talks to active blogger dads, Daddy M and Winston Tay, to hear their thoughts on the meaning and value of family.
‘Daddy M’ writes for his blog on family at:
What does family mean to you?
To me, family is a unit where we are bonded by relationships. With family, you know that you always have someone there to count on regardless of the situation.
More importantly, it is where you can give and receive unconditional love. There is nothing more beautiful than to have your loved ones by your side at the end of each day. Seeing the smiles on the children that greet you especially at the end of a tough day is priceless in my book.
I believe that ” A Wedding is an event, a marriage is the journey, parenthood is a blessing and family is the reward.”
What are some of the things that you value most about your family?
The first is the unconditional love we show each other. It could be the love between spouses, siblings or parents and children. Regardless, we know that we have each other’s back. In a way, this keeps the family bonds strong in good and bad times.
The many precious moments that I share with my family, brings a glow to my heart. It could be witnessing a child’s first step or hearing them calling me Dad for the first time. All these moments no matter how big and small are made into beautiful memories that I carry for a lifetime.
How do you as a dad, express your leadership role in the context of family?
For a Dad, the traditional role is to provide for the family. However in today’s context such a role has diminished with the change in society’s mindset. In our family, we do not define leadership, instead we believe in shared responsibility between parents with regards to raising our children. Decision-making is made in together in unison.
As a Dad I lead by positive example and not by ‘imposing’ leadership per se. Everyone is a leader in the family, including the children, who are involved in the process of decision-making.
The key is to share and grow as a family.
.
Winston Tay’s blog, The Blogfather, can be found at:
What does family mean to you?
Everything. The strongest memories I have of my life are with my family. My children are my future, and only with family have I found purpose in being who I am and who I want to be.
What are some of the things that you value most about your family?
I learn not to take for granted the support from my wife for everything I do, the love my son showers me every day, and the lifelong lessons I learn from them.
How do you as a dad, express your leadership role in the context of family?
I am no more a leader in my family as my wife or child is. We treat each other as independent individuals who respect each other and those around us at all times.
Though there are responsibilities and discipline my child has to learn, these are lessons no less applicable to me and my wife as well. So, as a family, we don’t necessarily embody a family structure with the father as the leader of the household. We prefer to just play on each other’s strengths as individuals (yes, even my 5-year-old son, Xander), and that works perfectly fine for us.
We think Xander has got a pretty high EQ. Short of the occasional “Look at the fat lady, Daddy!” moments, he does have a good sense of social cues and when certain emotions are running high, whether it be someone who needs cheering up or calming down, or when my wife and I get into a disagreement.
This characteristic cuts both ways; he’s very good with handling social settings on his own, but his reactions to adverse moments also reminds us of how we behave as adults, and ultimately his presence in our lives changes the way we communicate, both as a family and with others around us.
Click here to find out what Isaiah Kuan, Edmund Tay and Patrick Pang had to say.
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.