Why Parenting?

Many of you must have questioned or are still questioning why this fresh College Graduate would want to write a book about parenting. You have probably realized by now that I am still single, have no adopted children or children of my own. However, I do have a heart and passion for children and youth. I have taught at the YMCA children camps, gone for numerous mission trips, taught Conflict Resolution and Anger Management Modules to Grade 5 students in Canada and volunteered to teaching Sunday Schools at my church, City Mission Church. Additionally I am thankful to God for creating this desire to share how children, youth and young adults perceive parenting for their point of view.

This book was inspired to bridge current parents’ understanding of their children and enhance the intangible relationships within families. This need to share such values and insights was initially birth in me when I was still a teenager. I was appalled by the numerous youths who openly cursed their parents, belittle their jobs or lifestyle and had absolutely no respect. It is sad but such bombardments of disrespect flood our city.

I was blessed to have been brought up by good Christian parents who love and care for me even despite my misbehaviour. I give a lot of tribute to the fact that my dad was posted overseas with OUB Asia, indrectly forcing my mom to leave the corporate rat race and transform into a stay home mom.

Quality family time in Canada was a lot more apparent due to the more felxible and shorter work house. We spent our weekend going fishing, playing at the parks, riding horses...etc...stuff that very little families in Singapore have the luxury of time to do so, especially since we live in such a rapid pace society.

Singapore had been booming exponentially and a standard two-income family’s cash flow just making ends meat is the norm. It is almost impossible for a fresh graduate to ultimately pay for a down payment of any private residential unit (public residents: HDB requires that you are over 35 years old or are married to qualify for a HDB unit) as the prices have soured due to the recent 2007 economic boom and sky rocketing inflation.

Parents are forced turn to foreign helpers to take care of their children and this inevitably leads to more quality shared between the maid than the parent in a lot of cases. With the reduction of quality time spent, effective communication is broken down leading to a further gap in the quality of relationships at home.

So who is to blame? The society, the parents or the children?

There is only so much that we can do to change the society we live in, but the correlation between how we direct our actions towards our famly is a 100% cause and effect.

So the real question is, how willing and determined are we to foster the relationships you have as a family unit?

To what extents are you willing to go through to fight for this goal?


Parents need to realise that this issue to their family and need to internalise that parenting is a joy and a previledge.

Parenting is an opportunity for rediscovering one`s inner child that had been buried deeply beneath the layers of conditioning that we had acquired in the process of growing up. It is a reminder to feel young again at heart, and experience the world with a child-like wonder. It is all right to be playful.

Give yourself full permission to party and have fun with our children