Vivian Balakrishnan Shares Heartwarming Parenting Experience
In today’s society, many families comprise parents busily working to earn a livelihood for both themselves and their kids.
To all parents, our Foreign Affairs Minister Vivian Balakrishnan has a word of advice: despite your busy schedule, cherish the time you have with your children.
He shared this in a heartwarming speech at the Focus on the Family Singapore’s annual partnership dinner.
Having children will change your life forever
Dr Balakrishnan shared that having his first child, Natalie, made him realise how much his own parents had loved him.
Dr Balakrishnan as a kid with his parents
Source
Once you become a parent, you’ll have to “give someone more than yourself”, and “live for a future that goes beyond your own”.
A loving relationship between parents is vital
To Dr Balakrishnan, there is no better gift parents can get for their children than seeing themselves in a loving relationship.
He shared a piece of advice from his wife that had stuck with him:
The best present you can give your children is to love their mother.
He shares his belief that all children need their parents to be in a “committed relationship”, in order to have a “sense of stability” growing up.
Busy schedules aside, spend time with your kids
Speaking about his parenting experience, Dr Balakrishnan shares that his son would always request to be tucked into bed when he was much younger.
However, Dr Balakrishnan was often busy with work matters, and his son would already be asleep when he was done.
Recently, he asked his son, now 13 years old, if he needed to be tucked into bed. To which his son replied, “If you want to.”
In ending, Dr Balakrishnan has a piece of advice for all parents to consciously take time out of their busy work schedules for their children, because:
Your children need you.
Parenting advice we can all take away
Parenting may not be an easy journey, but Dr Balakrishnan’s own experience has surely given us some valuable advice.
If you’re a young parent, do take note and make an effort to cultivate healthy relationships within the family so your kids may grow up in a happy environment.
Featured image from Dr Vivian Balakrishnan on Facebook and Facebook.
