Tell us a little about yourself and what you do.
I am 36 years old, married with 2 kids. I own and run a few companies together with my co-founders. Under ISGN Ventures we are currently invested into live streaming services under the brand Prolive. We run a platform called IslamicEvents, one of the pioneer web portals for the Muslim community. I’m also co-founder at Launchpad Technologies, where we support the tech community with hardware and IoT components on 12Geeks.com. I currently sit on the Boards of Singapore Malay Chamber of Commerce & Industry where I serve as Honorary Secretary and also more recently Yayasan Mendaki.
How old are your kid(s)?
My son is 4 and my daughter is 6.
Who is the primary caregiver in the household, and what are you and your partner’s parenting philosophy?
I would like to think that we share the responsibility equally although of course children will prefer their mom ☺️. We are also lucky to have the assistance of my in-laws who watch over them when both of us have to work over the weekdays.
We love to let our children discover things and expose them to new things. Before the pandemic this means bringing them travelling overseas, however now we try to bring them out on the weekends to various parts of Singapore like the beach and parks and let them run free.
What's your favourite moment in the day with your kid(s)?
My favourite moments will be when I'm able to sit and build stuff with them - whether it's a lego set or just from scrap materials. My kids love to draw and I've recently taught them how to draw me instructions for things to build.
How do you keep yourself sane?
Having enough sleep is important. Exercise, eat well and stay healthy.
Best tech tip on parenting. This can be apps / hardware / gear you use, and how you use them.
YouTube. Sometimes kids discover new things like a new bug in the park or recently there was a video of a vortex in the sky. I use it to show them videos explaining how things work along with explaining it to them myself.
Most helpful advice you've received as a parent.
Don't baby talk to them.
I try explaining to them things in full without dumbing down the vocabulary. They'll slowly pick up the words and concepts and use them.
What lessons do you not want your kid(s) to learn?
Surely all the ugly things in life :) But more importantly to me is that they learn to be honest and kind to others.
What was the best lesson you learned from your child?
Planning. With children you learn that time is limited and there are needs which have to be fulfilled, so you have to look forward and figure out what to expect.
What is your proudest dad moment?
Every moment when I see my children well and happy.
If you could ask anyone, dead or alive, for their best parenting tip, who and what would that be?
It will be my own parents. I still seek their advice whenever things get hard and I'm grateful that they are still around. Sometimes all you need to be reminded of is that things are going to be fine, and the challenges will pass.
How do you manage technology exposure for your child/children. For eg, thoughts on screen time etc.
Honestly, I've given up on controlling screen time. We allow them to watch the phone or iPad to keep them occupied or when we need to feed them. However we try our best to fill their time with other activities, have proper sleeping hours, and also not having a TV at home.
What hobbies do you and your children share?
Mentioned in qn 4.
Finally, your best dad joke!
As a coder this one comes to mind every time my wife seeks me to get something:
Wife says to her programmer husband, "Go to the store and buy a loaf of bread. If they have eggs, buy a dozen."
Husband returns with 12 loaves of bread.