Families For Life | The Many Roles of a Father

• Opening Hours:

  DIY

Father’s Day is the perfect opportunity to honour every dedicated family man. A good father is a pillar of strength, support and guidance.

This Father’s Day, we ask Singaporeans about the role their fathers’ play in their lives. What about you? What is a father to you?

The Family Man

He puts in the effort to balance their careers (at times simultaneously with their spouse) to be a loving, involved father. He shows his love by making sure that he has his family’s needs met. Unbeknownst to many, he struggles with guilt when his career advances at the expense of his spouse and children.

“Fathers need to be patient to make sure everyone is raised right and happy. My Father is not only the breadwinner of my family. He also strives to keep me alive and happy!”
Brightman, 15, Student

“My dad works hard to bring home the bacon. I know he battles with choosing to invest time in his career or his family. His ability to persevere and provide a comfortable home while being a loving father is why I choose to be a better person.”
Cindia, 24, Software Test Analyst

The Guardian

Fathers are there to make sure that values and morals are instilled into a child so that they grow up a respectful individual that are also respected by others. Fathers teach their children the ability to face adversity with courage, and to never compromise their beliefs to please others. Fathers are the protectors and the strength behind a confident, independent child who knows how to protect himself or herself.

“A father is someone you can rely on, someone who is your role model, someone who is strong, determined, obligated to do the best for his family. A father is like sand in a dessert. Without sand, the dessert will never exist.”
Dominick, 22, Student

“I’m quite lucky, I had a great dad. It’s about 14 years since he passed away, and I miss him dearly, for who he was, and how he influenced me and our family, and how he shaped us to be better people. He really helped me put my personal foundations in place. I think that is the role of a father. Especially today with change happening so quickly, and communication being impacted by technology, people need a solid foundation to start from. A good set of strong beliefs, a toolkit of personal values, and a mission to strive are needed to constantly grow irrespective of the obstacles that cross your path. I think that is what fathers can do for their families. Irrespective of time and place, these personal foundations will be important for fathers to share with their loved ones. P.S Love you dad and miss you every day…”
Derek, Consultant

“A father has four responsibilities -- one, to influence and impart values; two, to confer a healthy identity; three, to provide security, especially emotional security; four, to affirm potential. I believe that when I discharge these responsibilities effectively, my children will grow up anchored with a moral compass and not easily swayed by undesirable influences. They will be confident of themselves - their self-worth will not depend on the haves/have nots, their positions in the society and what others think of them. They will not need to prove their worth nor to gain approval from others.”
Yoon Pin, Assistant Professor and Father of Four

“I nag not out of subjugation, but out of love for my next generation. Because son, I see a hole up ahead in this road we call life. I’ve been there before and falling isn’t nice. So listen to what I’m preaching because I’m not telling you twice. I nag because I love you.”
Richie, 23 (On what he would say to his future son)

The Gentleman

While two parents are needed, fathers are often seen as the authority figurehead and leader of the family that can have the most influence on the outcome of a child. Many have described fathers as the person who establishes a woman’s worth as he is the first man in his daughter’s life.

When a father treats female figures with love and respect, he shapes his daughter’s opinions of men in a positive way and reinforces her self-worth by demonstrating how a respectable man should behave towards a lady. Similarly, a father’s respect towards women will teach their boys how to treat women appropriately.

“My father showers me with unconditional love. From his kindness and loving relationship with my mother, he had shown me how a lady should be properly treated – with dignity, love, and kindness.”
Emma, 26, Media Executive

“A father is a king and his daughter is his princess no matter how old she is. He still dotes on me and pampers me with gifts and heartfelt conversations like he did back in the day.”
Miss Lim, 24, Receptionist

“Fathers are the first male role model for their children. Daddy’s little girls will understand how a female should be respected by the way he treats her mother. Daddy’s little boys will learn to behave like a gentleman by seeing the way his father treats female figures.”
Bryan, 15, Student

“The role of a father is a special one. Your father is the man that sets the standards for all the other men that will enter your life. He will be that role model that will be able to instill important values in you that will lead you through life as a respected person.”
Divya, 32, Teacher

The Lighthouse

“A father is like a lighthouse standing tall above the seas. When the storms of life come crashing in, the light from your father you’ll see” – Dana Roberts Clark.

Instead of running to his child’s rescue, some fathers prefer to take the guiding parenting route by shining his light, reminiscent of a lighthouse. He never conceals the fact that life is imperfect and lets his child make mistakes. He shows him or her that it is okay to fall or fail in life as long as they get back up. He might put up a brave front, but just like a lighthouse, rain or shine, low tide or high tide, he will always be there to catch his child, teach him or her a valuable lesson, and then lead the way home.

“My father is a quiet, observant man. He is the best confidant one can ask for. I can always turn to him for wisdom.”
Cindy, 23, Fashion Designer

“My dad is my compass. He is the jack of all trades in the family. He seems to be able to fix all things at home. I always turn to him for advice as he always has a different hindsight on decisions to be made. I love the way he is, tough on the outside but soft enough to show his care and love for me, my siblings and to my hubby whom he treats like his own. Love my dad!”
Adrienne, 35, mother of one

“My strong pillar of support. He is a bit of an introvert so it seems like he is the parent who watches me grow up “silently”. However, I know that he will be able to catch me when I fall.”
Miss Soh, 23, Branch Executive

“The role of a father is to be that person you know who will always look out for you and be a pillar of support, even through your brightest and darkest times.”
Nisha, 29, Service Quality Specialist

“I hope to be the one who always reminds her of the little things in life that truly matter, smiles, respect, popcorn…”
Justin Loi, 33, Project Manager and Father of One