Families may come in different configurations, but love is the tie that binds. The bond between parent and child, spouses and across the generations are built upon the little acts of love that family members carry out for each other every day.

It’s no different for celebrities, as Mediacorp artistes Ben Yeo, Justin Ang, Huda Ali and Eswari Gunasagar show us. In a video series specially made to celebrate families, each celeb spent time doing a favourite activity with a special someone – or someones – in their life.

Made with love: Ben Yeo and his son Javier

Channel 8’s Ben Yeo is well-known for his dedication in preparing delicious, nutritious meals for his two sons when they were growing up. So it comes as no surprise that Ben and his son Javier chose baking as a parent-child bonding activity.

Despite his busy schedule, Ben squeezes out time to send his kids to school every day. This allows him to stay up to date on their lives. Even Javier acknowledges his dad’s commitment to the family, giving him full marks as a father. He says, “He’s one of the best dads (I know). He always puts family first”.

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Riding in tandem: Justin Ang and his wife llona

Opposites attract for Class 95 DJ, Justin Ang and his lovely wife Ilona. But when it comes to spending time doing things together, both are in tandem with one another. As the couple describes it, Justin’s easy-going personality and penchant for laidback activ ities perfectly complements Ilona’s more assertive nature and gungho sporty ways. Despite his decidedly unathletic nature, he ga mely joins his wife to go cycling once a month.

To Justin, Ilona is more than just his romantic partner. In fact, he “enjoys Ilona’s company so much that (he’d) rather hang out with her” than his friends.

 

Not all work and no play: Huda Ali and her family

For celebrity couple Huda Ali and her actor husband Den Sabari, their busy schedules mean that family time is doubly precious. In t heir pockets of free time, Huda and Den look for activities that will allow them to bond with their children Luke and Leia.

Describing herself as “the type of parent who likes to give my kids freedom”, Huda prefers her children to try out diff erent things and learn from their failures. This hardworking but fun-loving couple believes in supporting their kids through good and bad times, and work towards imparting values like independence and resilience to them.

 

Moulded with Care: Eswari Gunasagar and her mum Pushpa

For bubbly Vasantham star Eswari Gunasagar, family is everything. As her mum and “best friend” Pushpa shares, even if i t’s just sitting down for a meal, chatting or singing, they are all joyful occasions when they do it as a family.

As a family, they always made sure they had each other’s back. Pushpa worked to supplement the family’s income to bring up her four children together with her husband. When Eswari was feeling down, her brothers were quick to provide words of encourageme nt.

Just like ceramic pots they were making, Eswari and her family showed that you can indeed mould a strong family through time, effor t and plenty of care.

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The content of this article was adapted from Mediacorp’s #justswipelah video series which is available on MeWatch.

The Ministry of Social and Family Development (MSF), has designated 2022 as the Year of Celebrating SG Families (YCF). This will see Families for Life, Alliance for Action to Strengthen Marriages and Family Relationships (AFAM) and Made for Families partners come together to offer a range of family-friendly events, programmes and resources that can help you to build strong and happy families. Find out more!

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