Initiative to Encourage Families to Honour Grandparents in 2021

SINGAPORE - Media OutReach - 3December 2020 - Despite the more challengingtimes of the COVID-19 season, the EatWith Your Family Day (EWYFD) initiative has drawn the participation of over600 organisations such as CityDevelopments Ltd, Etiqa Insurance Pte Ltd and Eu Yan SangInternational Ltd who encouraged their employees to end work earlier andgather with their families for meals this year.

During this time,most organisations were still in a work-from-home mode and employees oftengrappled with the blurred boundaries of work and life, at times working beyondnormal working hours although they were at home. To encourage employees to bepresent for their families, and bond over meals and activities, the organisersof EWYFD tied-up special deals with over 50 merchant partners for the EWYFDs inSeptember and November to offer food, retail and fun options for familyactivities.

During EWYFD on4 September 2020, the organisers of EWYFD worked withover 40 organisations toplan a special programme for their employees. The 150 families nominated bytheir organisations received a family meal delivered to their homes andparticipated in a photo contest and movie trivia to win prizes and goodie bags. For both events in September and November, special moviescreenings of "Happy Feet 2" and "Despicable Me 2" were also broadcasted onMediacorp Channel 5 so families could bond over movie time. In addition, the Centrefor Fathering offered complimentary online fathering and parenting workshops tofurther strengthen family bonding.

Mr Tan Chuan-Jin, Speaker of Parliament andPatron for Centre for Fathering and DADs for Life said, "Family-friendlyinitiatives such as Eat With Your Family Day may seem only beneficial toemployees but this practice can benefit the company in the long run. Organisationswho put their employees first by helping them prioritise their families tend tohave employees who are more productive and committed. As such, I would like toencourage companies to embrace EWYFD as part of their efforts to nurture afamily-friendly work culture."

To build on the momentum and positive feedback,EWYFD will go on to place special emphasis on encouraging families to eattogether with grandparents in 2021. As the saying goes, "It takes a village toraise a child." With the stress imposed by today's fast-paced society, manyparents feel the strain of managing multiple roles at work and home. The roleof grandparents in providing support for parents,acting as a role model and being a link to family history and traditions, iscritical to the family's well-being. This support by grandparents is even morepertinent amidst the challenges posed by the COVID-19 season.

 "Our grandparents' greatest joys are the timeswhen the family gathers for meals. Unfortunately, the demands of our fast-pacedsociety have made it difficult for many families to regularly spend timetogether as an extended family. With families connecting digitally, the lesstech savvy grandparents are excluded from this social interaction, which maycause them to feel isolated," said Mr Bryan Tan, CEO, Centre for Fathering andDADs for Life. 

He added, "Spending time with grandparents overa meal on occasions such as EWYFD shows that they are important in our livesand emphasises the values of respect and esteeming our elders to our children.We want to recognise the selfless love of grandparents - from caring for thegrandchildren when parents are at work, to whipping up our favourite dishes."

Underpinned by multiple research studies thatshow how connecting as a family over a meal can improve the physical and mentalhealth of family members, EWYFD was launched in 2003 by the Centre forFathering to encourage organisations to arrange for employees to leave work at5pm so that they can eat with their families. Held on the last Friday of each school term,EWYFD will take place on 12 March, 28 May, 3 September and 19 November in 2021.EWYFD is brought to you by MUMS for Life, DADs for Life and Centre forFathering, in support of Made for Families.

For more information, go to fathers.com.sg/ewyfd.

About Centre for Fathering, DADs for Life and MUMs for Life

Centre for Fathering (CFF) is a non-profitorganisation founded in 2000 to promote active and involved fathering andaddress issues caused by fatherlessness in Singapore. The organisation aims toturn the hearts of children towards their fathers by empowering more fathers tobe better role models and an enduring inspiration to their children. 

Since 2015, CFF has been the driving forcebehind Singapore's nation-wide fathering movement - DADs for Life which seeksto inspire and mobilise fathers to become more involved with and a goodinfluence to their children... for life. Under the DADs for Life umbrella areinitiatives such as DADs@School, Back to School with DAD, Eat With Your FamilyDay and Celebrating Fathers -- to encourage fathers to spend time with theirfamilies and create a culture that promotes active fathering.

MUMs for Life is a ground-up movement tocelebrate a mum's unique identity as a woman, daughter, wife & mother. Ourkey partner is DADs for Life because we believe that mums and dads playirreplaceable and complementary roles in parenting together.  

CFF is Made For Families

CFF isproud to be part of the ecosystem supporting families in Singapore, andidentify ourselves as an organisation that is Made For Families. Made ForFamilies represents the different ways -- big and small -- in which Singaporesupports families. Companies, organisations and community groups can adopt thebrand mark to identify themselves as promoting the value of family in oursociety. Together, we can build asociety that is Made For Families, by laying a foundation of support, fromfamily-friendly spaces and workplaces, products and services, andfamily-bonding activities.  Visit go.gov.sg/MadeForFamilies for more information.