22nd May 2010 , Posted by Edmund Tay

I am a Dad for Life

The month of May marked an exciting month for Daddies, as we had our inaugural Dads for Life Conference.

First off, I have neven been for a Dad’s conference before, and I was looking forward to attend the conference. Josh Mcdowell is also a very prominent speaker and with 5 children, I felt that I had to learn from him!

On the day of the conference, I was in for a shock!

I have NEVER seen so many DADs gathered in one place before. ..the carpark was filled with cars, and there were only MEN going into the carpark lift…

The hotel lobby was filled with DADs…as many of them were waiting for their friends and colleagues. When I entered the Ballroom, I was surprised to see so many DADs gathered on a Friday afternoon to attend a Fatherhood Seminar.

It seems that Parenting is on the rise, and Fathers are ready to be Participants in the Parenting Proces!

Dads for Life  was also ready to appreciate the Fathers for taking the time off work, by offering us a sumptous buffet spread for all the Dads. Tickets were priced at $12 dollars for the conference and they were definitely giving us a bargain by feeding all of us well! (Many thanks to Maybe Baby for sponsoring my ticket! )

My good report about the conference does not stop here! But, the best part is still to come!

Josh Mcdowell  gave us invaluable insights about Parenting, as he reminded us about the important roles that Dads play in the family unit.

In surveys taken across America, they realized that Kids want this common ”thing” in their lives.

They want to be able to be real with a person and they want this intimacy with their Dads. Therefore, its never too late to start with your child!

The best thing about kids is that they are not looking for talents and abilities, they are just looking for Dads who make the effort to spend to spend time with them.

Josh Mcdowell gave us 5 tips on”How to be a better Father”. They are:

1. Be There, Be Present

Dads need to be involved in their children’s lives. Go for the soccer game or just “hang out” with them. When we spend time with them now, they will spend time with us, when we grow older. 

a personal note, hopefully I can stay faithful with my pledge and spend more time with the family and kids!

2. Embrace their Uniqueness

Identify with their emotions and build a bridge with your child. Affirm a child first before you correct them. I think sometimes, we as Parents are too ready to correct first, and forget the affirming part.

3. Set Boundaries

Josh believes that if u truly love your children, you will have to set reasonable boundaries. This creates responsibility and encourages self-control.

4. Love yourself, Love Others

Affection for your children, helps them realize that they are loved. And most importantly, if they don’t get it from us, they will look to receive it from their peers in terms of BGR relationships.

5. Be their Role Model

We have to model the truth, that we want to see ingrained into our children

I think that these are excellent tips, and I am looking forward to apply these principles in my daily Parenting routines.

Besides Josh Mcdowell, James Thomas was also there to enlighten us about Parenting Styles. There was also a forum where 5 prominent local fathers talked about their fathering experiences. It was great to see prominent fathers such as Brian Richmond, Adrian Pang, Patrick Cheo, Hassan Bin Salleh and Alfred Tan giving their views on Parenting.

I think most of us Dads went home, realizing that we are not alone on this Parenting journey. And with 1000 participants, we are definitely in good company!

1 Comment

Kelvin

May 23rd, 2010 at 1:26 am    

Wow! That is a lot of participants for a weekday event. I really wanted to go but weekdays is kind of tough for me especially that I only got to know the date when the event was about to start.

I hope that the next year’s event will be a weekend event to cater for MORE people!

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