Dads for Life (DFL) is a national men's movement in Singapore promoting active fatherhood.ChannelNewsAsia, Dads for Life movement to get fathers more involved in family , 2009-11-16, retrieved 2011-01-28. History Dads for Life emerged in Singapore in the context of two sociological trends. From the 1970s, increasing numbers of women took to the labour force, leading to an evolution of expectations of fatherhood beyond the traditional role of “breadwinner”. In 1991, 55.7% of women in the prime working ages of 25 to 54 were employed.Ministry of Manpower, Report on Labour Force in Singapore (2009), Women in prime working ages , retrieved 2011-01-28. By 2010, a record 71.7% of women were in the labour force.938 Live, Mediacorp News, Singapore’s resident employment hits new high , 2010-11-30, retrieved 2011-01-02. Such “dual career” families have required fathers to play a more active role in their children’s lives than before.

The second trend has been the continued lag in the involvement of fathers in family life behind that of mothers, despite evolving social and familial norms. In line with research findings in other countries,Yeung, W. J., Sandberg, J. F., Davis-Kean, P., & Hofferth, S. L. (2001). Children's time with fathers in intact families. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 63, 136-154. a 2006 study conducted in Singapore found that mothers were still much more likely than fathers to be their child’s caregiver.Shum-Cheung, Hawkins & Lim (2006). The Parenting Project: Disciplinary Practices, Child Care Arrangement and Parenting Practices in Singapore. Singapore: Singapore Children’s Society. Traditional male roles also persist in the type of relationship most children have with their fathers. A 2001 study of post-secondary students in Singapore found that they perceived fathers as significantly less warm than mothers, in that fathers were less affectionate and provided less support and guidance to adolescent children in their everyday lives.Ong, A.C. & Tan, E. (2001). Father’s role in the school success of adolescent: A Singapore study. In McInerney, D.M.& Van Etten, S. (Ed.). Research on Sociocultural Influences on Motivation and Learning. Vol. 1. pp. 183-203. Connecticut: Information Age Publishing.

The late 1990s saw an emergence of independent efforts to promote involved fatherhood and in 1999, the first father-centric social organisation, Centre For Fathering (CFF), was registered in Singapore providing family life education and father-child bonding activities. In 2004, the Association of Devoted and Active Family Men (ADAM) was formed to raise awareness on men’s responsibilities and roles in society and family. Government interest began in earnest after the first national survey on fatherhood concluded in 2009. Conducted by the Ministry of Social and Family Development (MSF), then the Ministry of Community Development, Youth and Sports and the lead government agency for family matters in Singapore, this gave national focus to the agenda of promoting involved fatherhood. The survey which polled 2,220 Singaporeans and Permanent Residents aged 18 and above found widespread agreement that fathers play an important parenting role, but that fathers still spend less time with their children than mothers. 95% of fathers surveyed also agreed that being a father and raising children was one of the most fulfilling experiences a man could have, but cited parenting challenges such as work responsibilities, financial pressures and a lack of parenting resources.Ministry of Community Development, Youth and Sports, Fatherhood public perception survey (2009) , retrieved 2011-01-02.

With support from MSF, Dads for Life was launched on 19 November 2009 in conjunction with International Men’s Day, with a mission to “inspire, mobilize and involve fathers to become good influencers in their children’s lives for life”.Dads for Life, National Family Council, Dads make a difference , 2009-11-17, retrieved 2011-01-28. Volunteers led an island-wide distribution of toolkit packs to fathers containing red and white wristbands and lapel pins bearing the movement’s logo.Dads for Life, Dads for Life movement’s 1st year milestones , 2011-01-04, retrieved 2011-01-28. The local significance of this movement for the family is captured by the National Family Council's chairman Mr Lim Soon Hock: “co-parenting is essential for a child’s optimal growth and development, with fathers and mothers playing distinct but complementary roles. Being an active father can be challenging, but it is also a very fulfilling experience.” DFL celebrated its first anniversary on 18 November 2010.The Straits Times, Engaging Dads via TV , 2010-11-18, retrieved 2011-01-28.

By 2011, organisations across Singapore were taking up the Dads for Life message of active fatherhood. Dad and child programs were held with SAFRA,Redsports, SAFRA, Dads and kids to take adventure racing challenge at SAFRA AVventura , 2011-01-21, retrieved 2011-02-04. the National Library Board (NLB), Community Development Councils, and local businesses through the Dads@Workplaces initiative.Dads for Life, Setting Sights on Deepening Engagement with Dads , 2011-11-17, retrieved 2013-05-10. As a thriving program partnership grew in the English language medium, Dads for Life began focusing on dads from Singapore's other main language groups. An inaugural series of local language dad conferences was launched in 2012, in the official languages of Chinese,Dads for Life Dads For Life Chinese Conference 2012 , 2012-09-15, retrieved 2013-05-10. Tamil,Dads for Life First Ever Dads for Life Tamil Conference 2012 , 2012-09-29, retrieved 2013-05-10. and Malay.Dads for Life Bicara ADAM 2012 , 2012-07-08, retrieved 2013-05-10. In March 2013, Dads for Life launched the Great Wall of Dads, a nationwide campaign to rally Singaporeans to display the Dads for Life Decal as a show of support for all fathers around them.Dads for Life Dads For Life 3rd Anniversary , 2012-11-10, retrieved 2013-05-10. Creative displays of the over 500,000 decals in circulation were submitted from across Singapore.Great Wall of Dads, Wall of Decals WallofDecals!, 2013-03-29, retrieved 2013-05-10. High-profile annual events currently include the SAFRA Bay Run, one of Singapore’s largest and most popular running events,Mindef News, SAFRA Singapore Bay Run , 2012-09-09, retrieved 2013-05-09. the Dads for Life Conference, and NLB's 10,000 & More Fathers Reading! initiative.Ministry of Communications and Information, 10,000 & More Fathers Reading! , 2012-12-21, retrieved 2013-05-09.

On 1 May 2013, the Ministry of Manpower (Singapore) introduced one week of government-paid paternity leave for working and self-employed fathers, thus recognising the importance of father involvement from the birth of the child.Ministry of Manpower (Singapore), Paternity Leave , 2013-04-30, retrieved 2013-05-09.

Effects of Father Involvement

Dads for Life is founded on fatherhood research from the 1990s onward that points to the significant benefit of fathers’ involvement on child development in terms of improved cognitive, socio-emotional, psychological and academic outcomes. For example, children with involved and nurturing fathers are noted to: develop higher intelligence quotients (IQs), better language and reasoning skills;Pruett, K. (2000). Father-need. New York, NY: Broadway Books. be more securely attached to their caregivers;Cox, M. J., Owen, M. T., Henderson, V. K., & Margand, N. (1992). The prediction of infant-father and infant-mother attachment. Developmental Psychology, 28, 474-483. experience less emotional distress during adolescence;Harris, K. M., & Morgan, S. P. (1991). Fathers, sons, and daughters: Differential paternal involvement in parenting. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 53, 531-544. report lower levels of anxiety and depression as adults;Flouri, E. & Buchanan, A. (2003). What predicts fathers' involvement with their children? A prospective study of intact families. British Journal of Developmental Psychology 21, 81-97. perform better in school.Nord, C., & West, J. (2001). Fathers’ and mothers’ involvement in their children’s schools by family type and resident status.

Active paternal involvement is also linked to benefits such as: better couple relationships among parents;Snarey, J. (1993). How fathers care for the next generation: A four-decade study. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. lower levels of maternal stress;Fisher, J.R.W. Cabral de Mello, M. Patel, V. & Rahman, A.(2006). Maternal depression and newborn health. Newsletter for the Partnership of Maternal, Newborn & Child Health, 2. Geneva. positive changes in fathers' self-identity.Eggebeen, D. J., & Knoester, C. W. (2001). Does fatherhood matter for men? Journal of Marriage and the Family, 63, 381-393.

Organisation

National Family Council Dads for Life is an initiative of the National Family Council (NFC). The NFC is a people-sector Council formed on 1 May 2006 to "champion and promote the building of resilient families, and provide a voice of the people on family issues". It is an advisory and consultative body for family-related policies, issues and programmes. The NFC is headed by Mr Lim Soon Hock, Chairman of Centre for Fathering.Centre for Fathering, Center for Fathering , retrieved 2013-05-14.

Fathers Action Network The Fathers Action Network (FAN) was constituted as a workgroup of the NFC when DFL was launched in November 2009. FAN functions as a consultative network for father-related issues and programmes, and has three stated goals:ChannelNewsAsia, Fathers Action Network volunteers , 2009-11-19, retrieved 2011-02-04. To increase awareness and knowledge about the critical impact of fathers’ involvement on their children’s lives; To mobilise individuals, organisations and communities, and promote greater collaboration amongst stakeholders, in increasing fathers’ involvement in their children’s lives; and To empower and support fathers in their roles as parents.

FAN comprises 15 members from various nonprofit organisations and business enterprises, reflecting the community-driven nature of the movement. FAN is headed by Mr Richard Seow, a former banker. Describing the approach adopted by FAN, Mr Seow noted that “many organisations…are already engaging and supporting fathers. Rather than replicate their good work, the network, through its multi-stakeholder representation, hopes to help fathers identify and leverage these resources as they assume increasingly diverse roles in co-parenting and modern family life.”Dads for Life, Fathers Action Network, Dads make a difference , 2009-11-16, retrieved 2011-02-04.

Dads for Life Secretariat The DFL Secretariat functions as an executive and coordinating arm of the movement and is centralized within MSF.Dads for Life, National Family Council, National Family Council initiatives - Dads for Life , 2010-05-05, retrieved 2013-05-03.

Program Tracks

Fathers@Schools