This document discusses the importance of father involvement in children's lives and the launch of a fathers movement in Singapore called Dads for Life. It provides evidence from research that father involvement is associated with better cognitive development, socioemotional well-being, and fewer at-risk behaviors in children. It then outlines how the Dads for Life movement was conceived and launched in 2009 to inspire and involve fathers through awareness campaigns, conferences, and community partnerships. The goal is to equip fathers to positively influence their children.

1. 1
Importance of Fathers

2. The
Story
Jason Wong
Former Senior Director,
Rehabilitation, Protection and
Residential Services Division
Ministry of Social and Family
Development
Singapore

3. ENCOUNTERS WITH GOD
Sep 2007 Israel Encounter
Apr 2008 Ukraine Encounter
How national fathers movement
(Dads for Life) was conceived

4. Malachi 4: 5-6
“See, I will send you the prophet Elijah before that great
and dreadful day of the Lord comes. He will turn the
hearts of the fathers to their children, and the hearts of
the children to their fathers; or else I will come and
strike the land with a curse.”
1.Elijah/Elisha - double portion
2.Widow/son (famine) - father the fatherless
3.Ahab/Jezebel – confronting principalities of the land

5. Impact Of Father Involvement
Cognitive Socio-emotional At-risk Behaviors
• Higher IQ
• Better linguistic
ability
• Higher academic
readiness
• Higher academic
achievement
• Better coping
• Moral maturity
• Pro social
behaviors
• Secure attachment
• Social competence
• Stable family
• Lower rates of
delinquency
• Lower rates of
substance abuse
and stealing
• Less truancy

6. • In UK, even controlling for mother involvement, father
involvement at age 7 was found to be significantly associated
with educational attainment at age 20 (Flouri 2005).
• US Department of Education study found that children are
43% more likely to earn mostly As and 33% less likely to
repeat a grade (Nord & West, 2001).
• In Singapore, Dr Ong Ai Choo (2000) found that good fathering
was associated with adolescents’ positive school engagement
and higher academic achievement.

7. • Even after controlling for mother involvement, father
involvement was significantly related to self-reported
happiness and life satisfaction (Flouri, 2005).
• Fathers had a buffering effect in protecting boys from
extreme victimisation and daughters have less
psychological distress at age 33, independent of
mother’s involvement (Flouri 2005) .

8. • Even controlling for mother’s involvement,
children have less behavioural problems such
as stealing, truancy, running away, defiance
(Aldous & Mulligan, 2002).
• In a longitudinal study looking at boys age 7
to 16, boys with involved fathers were less
likely to get into trouble with the police (Flouri &
Buchanan, 2002).

9. • When fathers engaged in high levels of
antisocial behaviours, their children had
more conduct problems (Jaffee et. al, 2003).
• When fathers engaged in harsh parenting,
children exhibited more aggression and
delinquency (Chang et. al, 2003).

10. - Sunlight vs Water
- Toys
- Protecting children

11. The Little Star
(Short Film)

12. 12
Fathering That Creates
Fear, Shame And Guilt
8.1
Expectations
Disappointment
s
PerformanceGuilt and shame
Expectations based love creates fear
FEAR

13. Launched in November 2009 to inspire
and involve fathers to be good
influencers in their children’s lives…..for
life.

14. Mobilising Fathers to A.C.T
A - Be Aware of the importance of a
husband’s and father’s role
C - Commit to be good fathers and role
models to their children
T - SpendTime, acquireTools and bring
Transformation to lives

15. Dads for Life movement
Officially launched on 19 November 2009

16. My Paper - 17 November 2009

17. Fathers
@Schools

18. How Fathers@Schools started?
• Picture of St Hilda’s launch of father group

19. Briefing To Schools

20. Launch of Fathers@Schools - 1 April 2010

23. Dads@Workplaces
• Dads@Workplaces lauched in June 2011 to reach
and engage fathers through their workplaces
• Guest of Honour - Head of Civil Service
• Engagement sessions with CEOs and Leaders of
business, private and public organisations

24. Dads for Life Conference
• 1000 participants for each conference
• Organised on a weekday

25. Bicara ADAM, Malay Language Conference, 8 July 2012
赏识教育：让孩子找到敬爱爸爸的理由, Chinese Language Conference, 15 September 2012
இந்திய தந்ததகளுக்காந மாநாடு , Tamil Language Conference, 29 September 2012

26. Community Partners
• SAFRA (Singapore Armed Forces Reservist
Association): Reaching out to 250,000 National
Servicemen and their families

28. SAFRA Bay Run
2011
SAFRA Bay Run

29. Impact Of Father Involvement
Cognitive Socio-emotional At-risk Behaviors
• Higher IQ
• Better linguistic
ability
• Higher
academic
readiness
• Higher
academic
achievement
• Better coping
• Moral maturity
• Pro social
behaviors
• Secure
attachment
• Social
competence
• Stable family
• Lower rates of
delinquency
• Lower rates of
substance abuse
and stealing
• Less truancy

30. Evidence From Research
• Of those who reported fathers were
indifferent and uninvolved:
– 84% of MSM (men having
sex with men) vs only
10% of heterosexual men
• Of those who identified with their
father in childhood:
– 10% of MSM vs 66.6% of
heterosexual men
Source: Inside Homosexuality (2011), Gordon Truscott

31. “… the presence of a committed,
active and attentive father is
critical to a boy’s proper
development…
… a constructive, supportive,
warmly related father precludes
the possibility of a homosexual
son.”
- Psychologist Dr Joseph Nicolosi in A
Parent’s Guide to Preventing Homosexuality
Inside Homosexuality
By Gordon Truscott

32. What an ex-gay says......
“In reality, what I needed
was what God created me
to need; an affirming,
character modeling,
loving relationship with
my dad. In fact, that’s
what my homosexual
journey was always about
– finding a man to love
me. Sex was just the
means to an end.”

33. Launched in November 2009 to inspire and involve
fathers to be good influencers in their children’s
lives…..for life.

34. Singapore Flooded
19 NOV 2009

35. 1 KINGS 18:1, 44-45
After a long time, in the third year, the word of
the Lord came to Elijah: “Go and present yourself to Ahab,
and I will send rain on the land”
The seventh time the servant reported, “A cloud as small as
a man’s hand is rising from the sea.”
So Elijah said, “Go and tell Ahab, ‘Hitch up your chariot
and go down before the rain stops you.’”
Meanwhile, the sky grew black with clouds, the wind rose, a
heavy rain started falling and Ahab rode off to Jezreel.

36. “Yet I reserve seven thousand in Israel—
all whose knees have not bowed down to
Baal and whose mouths have not
kissed him.”
- 1 Kings 19:18

37. Fathers Are The Answer !
The ELIJAH7000 Movement
Reach and equip 7000 Christian fathers to turn
the hearts of all fathers in this nation to their
children.

38. Copyright © 2014 by Jason Wong