When Ingo Wey became a first-time dad six months ago, he expected sleepless nights, endless diaper changes, and the overwhelming responsibility of fatherhood.
What he did not expect was how “isolating” fatherhood could feel sometimes.
The 36-year-old, who moved to Singapore a decade ago, found himself navigating a life-changing chapter without a close-knit network of other fathers.
“Suddenly you find that maybe you don’t have the other dads that you can share advice or ask questions immediately to,” he told MS News.
“You just want to say, ‘I had a rough night too’ to another dad.”
That longing for connection eventually became the foundation of Dad Life Club, a growing community helping fathers across Singapore realise they are not alone through events such as Stroller Sundays.
Born to Taiwanese parents and raised in Germany and the United Kingdom, Ingo now calls Singapore home.
His daughter was born in Dec 2025 and is now six months old.
Since becoming a dad, Ingo found himself slowing down and appreciating moments he once overlooked.
“You don’t appreciate those little things without having a baby as much,” he said. “Maybe she’s learned something new, or she’s been smiling, or you made her laugh.”
Source: Josh Willink from Pexels on Canva for illustration purposes only
Yet alongside these precious milestones came a quiet realisation that fatherhood can be isolating.
Daily routines shift, priorities change, and friendships evolve.
Many first-time dads can find themselves wondering if anyone truly understands what they’re going through.
Rather than accepting that “isolation”, Ingo decided to create the community that he wished existed.
The idea behind Stroller Sundays was remarkably straightforward.
Most dads were already taking their babies out for walks. “Why not do it together?” Ingo thought.
There would be no parenting seminars or structured discussions.
Just fathers pushing strollers side by side, chatting if they wanted to, and enjoying each other’s company.
Before the first gathering, Ingo admitted that he was nervous. “I presumed it might be just me,” he said.
Instead, nine fathers turned up for the walk, with the highest attendance so far being 35.
Seeing them arrive, all sharing the same desire for connection, was a moment he described as humbling.
That first walk proved something important: there were far more dads looking for community than anyone had realised.
Just three months later, Dad Life Club has grown rapidly, with more than 500 fathers joining its WhatsApp community.
“This community is really serving a purpose for dads in Singapore,” said Ingo.
While mothers often have access to support groups and communities, the same cannot really be said for their male counterparts.
This reality resonated with Brandon, a 39-year-old sales manager who attended his first Stroller Sundays walk recently after discovering the group online.
“There’s a lot of group chats in Singapore for mothers… but not really much for fathers,” he said.
Beyond parenting advice, Brandon believes the group offers something equally valuable: friendship.
“All dads can come and join us,” he said. “We can share our different experiences and from there, we can actually become friends.”
The club’s WhatsApp group has become a lifeline for many fathers.
Members swap advice on everything from feeding schedules and sleeping habits to swimming classes, baby products, and weaning recipes.
But often, the most valuable thing isn’t a solution. It’s knowing someone else is going through the same thing.
On this note, Ingo believes that modern fathers are facing unique pressures.
Many want to be involved parents, supportive partners, successful professionals, and individuals with their own hobbies and ambitions — all at the same time.
“They’re not just providers anymore,” he said. “They’re super hands-on, super involved.”
For Nas, a 36-year-old first-time father who runs a software company, that’s exactly why communities such as Dad Life Club matter.
“It’s really good to have a space where dads can meet and just chat, learn from each other, and share the things that bother us and see that we’re not alone on the journey,” he said.
“We all get to learn from each other, and also we get some support… We’re trying to be better dads together.”
For Ingo, the success of Dad Life Club isn’t measured by the size of its membership.
Instead, he has found satisfaction in the messages he receives from fathers who say that the community has helped them feel more confident and connected.
Some tell him they had been searching for a space like this for years. Others say it has given them the confidence to take their babies out independently for the first time.
These conversations, he said, are the most rewarding part of the journey.
Looking ahead, Ingo hopes the friendships formed through the community will last long after the stroller years are over.
He imagines families growing up together, children becoming friends, and parents supporting one another through every stage of life.
And for fathers who may be struggling silently through the early months of parenthood, he has one message:
You’re not alone.
Sometimes, all it takes is another dad walking beside you to make the journey feel a little lighter.
The next milestone for Dad Life Club will come on 21 June, when the community will be hosting its first Father’s Day Family Mixer.
Unlike the regular Stroller Sundays, which are designed as a space for dads to connect with one another, the event will welcome mothers, fathers and children together for a morning of celebration.
The gathering will have food and drinks, family photography sessions, lucky draws, and gifts for fathers.
Source: @dadlifeclub.sg on Instagram
For Ingo, the event represents something bigger than a Father’s Day celebration.
While Dad Life Club was created to give fathers a dedicated space, he believes involving the whole family can help to deepen those connections.
“We already talk about our wives and our partners,” he said. “Bringing everyone together will just make us form stronger bonds and create more friendships with the entire family.”
Ultimately, he hopes the community can become more than just a parenting group.
“If you meet another dad and mum with a six-month-old baby, and over the years we grow up together and learn together, and the kids become friends, I think that would be what makes this a success as well,” he said.
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Featured image by MS News. Photography by Ngô Huy Toàn.