ENCOURAGING FAMILY TIME AMONGST IMMEDIATE AND EXTENDED FAMILIES
REMAINS PRIORITY FOR FAMILIES FOR LIFE COUNCIL
Singapore, 6 September 2015 – More than 2,500 extended families, or 20,000 participants,
enjoyed family time at the annual Families for Life (FFL) Celebrations at Universal Studios
Singapore® on 5 and 6 September 2015. The event was graced by Prime Minister Lee Hsien
Loong.
A recent poll conducted by FFL revealed that 71% of the 1,252 respondents felt
spending time with their family gave them most happiness, an increase from 67% last year.
Majority spent 6 to 12 hours on average per week with their loved ones, an increase from only
2 to 6 hours in a similar poll conducted last year. However, only 55% were satisfied with the
amount of quality family time spent, a marginal increase from 54% last year. Long working
hours and household chores were cited as top reasons impeding family time.
In the same poll, while 59% of the respondents have a group chat with their extended
families, only 35% do something fun with their extended family members outside of their
homes. The majority felt that spending quality time means “getting out of the house and doing
something fun together” (62%), “having heart-to-heart conversations” (58%), and “having
regular meals together” (54%). (See Annex A for poll details.)
Mr Ching Wei Hong, FFL Council Chairman said, “I am heartened by the poll results
as they affirm that families recognise the importance of family time and want more time with
their families, although sometimes it requires us to re-prioritise our to-do lists. The familial
bond and support we get from our families and extended families are especially important. To
this end, we are very supportive of the enhanced Proximity Housing Grant. It will encourage
inter-generational families to stay closer, spend more time together and tap on each other’s
support to care for the young and old.”
On FFL’s efforts to promote family bonding, Mr Ching added, “The FFL Celebrations
is one way extended families can spend time together. FFL will continue to play our part by
providing timely online and physical reminders of practical family time tips, as well as
convenient bonding platforms such as our upsized monthly picnics starting next year. By doing
so, we hope to nudge more families to take the step of spending more quality time with
immediate and extended families.”
Mr Goh Zheng Ze who participated in the Celebrations with his 4-generation family of
44 members said, “This celebration is not just of how far the nation has come, but also of how
far the family has grown and expanded over 5 decades. We are really grateful for this amazing
opportunity to bring together 4 generations of the Goh-Oh clan. Our members range from 1
year 7 months all the way to my grandma who's 88! We usually meet up during festive
occasions and this is definitely something special for us to spend family time together as a big
extended family. Quality time as a family truly has no age limits.”
Mdm Rohaidah Bte Bushu who came with her extended family of 10 said, “I am very
glad to be able to bring my family because my mother just recovered from a mild stroke and
everyone, even the little ones, made great efforts to take care of her. I think it’s a great treat
for everyone because in sickness and in health we stay strong together.”
Since July 2015, the FFL Council has been actively promoting its family time message
to encourage people to make conscious decisions to spend time with their families. This
includes the promotion of a new hashtag #IChooseFamilyTime on social media.
FFL had received overwhelming public response for the balloting of passes for the
Celebrations, which was also attended by less privileged families from 29 Voluntary Welfare
Organisations, self-help groups and Family Service Centres.
A three-dimensional ‘Family Time’ installation, which was officially unveiled at the FFL
Celebrations, will be roving at various spaces over the next few months for the public to pen
family messages and take photographs as a reminder of the importance of taking the time to
nurture strong family bonds. FFL’s first-ever merchandise store was also launched at the
Celebrations, where sales proceeds will be donated to charity. (Please refer to Annex B for
details).
##END##
About Families for Life
Families for Life’s vision is to build strong and resilient families because that makes for
stronger communities and better individual well-being.
We Listen. We listen to the issues that Singaporean families are facing.
We Explore and Promote. We bring people and organisations together to create platforms
for family bonding and to engage Singaporeans in conversations about families.
We Voice. We voice out concerns that people have on family issues and continue this
conversation with our partners and the community.
The Council is chaired by Ching Wei Hong, who is the Chief Operating Officer of OCBC Bank.
Visit us at www.familiesforlife.sg.
Annex A
Poll on Family Time
The Families for Life Council conducted a poll in July 2015 to find out what family time means
to individuals.
The poll was conducted through the Families for Life Facebook Page and at various Families
for Life events.
1,252 respondents3%
participated in the poll. Some key findings are appended below.
Q1: Rank the following in order of which item gives you the most happiness. [1 for item
which gives you the most happiness and 5 for item which gives you the least happiness]
Figure 1: What gives you the most happiness?
Spending time with family
71%
Achieving financial goals
Having enough time for myself
14%
7%
Achieving personal goals 4%
37%
7%
23%
26%
11%
18%
38%
17%
Ranked 1st
Ranked 2nd
Achieving career goals 3% 8%
15%
Ranked 3rd
0%
3%
20%
40%
60%
71% felt spending time with their families
gave them the most happiness, a slight
increase from 67% last year.
80%
100%
120%
Q2: How many hours of quality family time do you spend with your family on an average
week?
Figure 2: How many hours of quality family time do you spend in a week?
6 to 12 hours
24%
2 to 6 hours
23%
12 to 24 hours
20%
(22%)
(28%)
(20%)
2015
More than 36 hours
24 to 36 hours
Less than 2 hours
14%
11%
8%
The majority of the respondents (24%) spent
6-12 hours with their families on an average
week, compared to only 2-6 hours (28%) in
last year’s poll.
(11%)
(12%)
(8%)
*Figures in brackets are
from the 2014 poll
Q3: Select your top three options of what spending quality family time means to you.
Figure 3: What spending quality family time means to you.
Getting out of the house and doing
something fun together
62%
Having heart-to-heart conversations
58%
Having regular meals together
Learning something new about my children
or family members
Celebrating festive occasions and birthdays
Going for a family holiday
54%
46%
41%
38%
(62%)
(67%)
(53%)
(50%)
(31%)
(37%)
Similar to 2014, the top three options are:
1. Getting out of the house and doing
something fun together
2. Having heart-to-heart conversations
3. Having regular meals together
*Figures in brackets
are from the 2014 poll
Q4: Are you satisfied with the amount of quality family time you have with your family?
Figure 4: Are you satisfied with the amount of quality family time you have with
your family?
*Figures in brackets are
from the 2014 poll.
(46%)
45%
55%
Yes
(54%)
No
Similar to 2014, slightly more than half of the
respondents are satisfied with the amount of quality
family time spent.
Q5: What are the reasons that you are not satisfied with the amount of quality family
time spent? [Respondents can choose more than 1 reason]
Figure 5: Top reasons for not being satisfied with the amount of quality family time spent
My spouse and I work long hours
55%
(43%)
Our free time is often spent on household chores
and errands
54%
(48%)
Our children spend long hours in school, and at
tuition and enrichment classes
Our children would rather spend their free time
playing computer games or watching TV
I don’t know how to engage my children for
quality family time
30%
28%
20%
Similar to 2014, the top 2 reasons are:


Long working hours
Free time often being spent on household
chores and errands
(41%)
(42%)
(19%)
*Figures in brackets
are from the 2014 poll.
Annex B
Families for Life Celebrations Factsheet
About FFL Celebrations
In 2014, the FFL Celebrations was extended to a year-long event for the very first time. The
launch of the Celebrations took place at the Singapore Sports Hub – and attracted over 22,000
people. The launch was followed by 11 monthly picnics held island-wide and six special edition
SG50 picnics.
The picnics were very well-received by the public; a total of 42,500 people attended the 17
picnics. All the monthly picnics were oversubscribed by at least three times.
FFL Celebrations 2015
FFL Celebrations 2015 was launched at Universal Studios Singapore®. FFL gave out 20,000
passes to Universal Studios Singapore® in sets of six, eight and 10. There was overwhelming
response for balloting of the passes.
Families enjoyed skits by a local celebrity, as well as other highlights such as magic
performances, balloon-sculpting, and the FFL mobile café. FFL’s first-ever merchandise store
was also launched at the Celebrations, where sales proceeds will be donated to charity.
The event will be followed by the return of the popular monthly picnics, which will kick off in
January 2016. Families can look forward to bigger and better picnics, which will be tied to
festivities such as Father’s Day and Mother’s Day.
‘Family Time’ Installation
A three-dimensional ‘Family Time’ installation was officially unveiled at the FFL Celebrations
at Universal Studios Singapore® in September. It serves as an eye-catching reminder on the
importance of time in nurturing strong family bonds.
Members of the public can gather their family members to take photographs together with the
installation to create lasting memories. There will be instant-print services, as well as cards
with useful family time tips which were contributed by some FFL Council Members. More
details can be found at www.familiesforlife.sg.
New FFL website
To provide families with a 365-day guide to enriching family life, FFL has launched its new
website (www.familiesforlife.sg). A highlight of the website will be a new family “Sharelist”
feature, where family members can build up and share a customised family itinerary for
weekend outings with each other, based on FFL’s suggested family-friendly places, events
and activities.
FFL will actively promote family time tips and encourage families to pledge family time through
social media activations. To promote the new hashtag #IChooseFamilyTime, FFL rolled out
Instagram “Welfie” contest and Facebook Family Photo” contest. FFL will also be sharing 30
family time tips with its online community across 3 weeks to reinforce the importance of family
time.
FAMILIES FOR LIFE CONDUCTED A POLL TO FIND OUT WHAT FAMILY TIME MEANS
#IChooseFamilyTime
WHAT GIVES YOU
THE MOST
HAPPINESS?
7 10
IN
SPENDING
QUALITY
1
FELT THAT SPENDING TIME WITH FAMILY
GIVES THEM THE MOST HAPPINESS
FAMILY TIME
62%
MEANS...
GETTING OUT OF THE HOUSE AND
DOING SOMETHING FUN TOGETHER
2
58%
HAVING HEART-TO-HEART
CONVERSATIONS
3
54%
HAVING REGULAR MEALS TOGETHER
AVERAGE NUMBER OF
HOURS
FAMILY
SPENT
WITH
PER
WEEK
24%
6 HOURS
TO 12 HOURS
SATISFACTION WITH AMOUNT OF
QUALITY FAMILY TIME
55%
YES
45%
NO
WHY?
1 MY SPOUSE AND I WORK LONG HOURS
2 FREE TIME SPENT ON HOUSEHOLD CHORES AND ERRANDS
HAVE A
XXXXXXXXXXXXX
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
XXXXXXXXXXXXXX
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
XXX
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
GROUP
CHAT
EXTENDED
59% FAMILIES
WITH
THEIR
FUN TIMES WITH EXTENDED FAMILY
35%
INDICATE THEY WILL
GET OUT OF THE HOUSE
AND
DO SOMETHING FUN
TOGETHER WITH THEIR
EXTENDED FAMILIES
#IChooseFamilyTime