Tell us a little about yourself and what you do.
I am 45 this year (2020). I cofounded a job portal in the region from Singapore, and ran it from 2000 to 2014, and stopped full time work in 2014. I now assume three main work roles: firstly as an active angel investor and running an angel club called AngelCentral; secondly running our own family portfolio; thirdly as a volunteer with educational institutes and with the government in Singapore.
How old are your kid(s)?
We have 4 boys aged 18, 17, 12 and 6.
Who is the primary caregiver in the household, and what are you and your partner’s do parenting philosophy?
Both my wife Shao-Ning and I are home most of the time for the boys. Our philosophy is we want to have a happy family that cares and looks after one another. We would like to see each child grow up to their fullest potential, be healthy in body, mind and spirit, and know how to be a happy and useful human. Useful not just to themselves, but also to more people (around them) if they can do so.
What's your favourite moment in the day with your kid(s)?
Nowadays, it’s the mornings when the two younger ones come looking for us when they wake up.
How do you keep yourself sane?
Being grateful and mindful of my blessings. Exercising. Being active with some form of work.
Best tech tip on parenting. This can be apps / hardware / gear you use, and how you use them.
No tech! Regular communication face to face is best. We try to enforce family sit down dinners with no phones. We also have topics such as current affairs, highlights of their days, or even our investment ideas etc to discuss during dinner. The idea is to challenge them to think for themselves!
Most helpful advice you've received as a parent.
From my wife: Treat each child differently the way they need to be treated. There is no equality of treatment.
From my dad: Be there most of the time and have fun together with your kids.
From my deceased mum: Always be loving. Unconditionally.
What lessons do you not want your kid(s) to learn?
Most life lessons about other people, self discovery are worth learning. I guess I only wouldn’t want them to experience anything that results in permanent poor health!
What was the best lesson you learned from your child?
That the best thing in the world does not cost anything.
What is your proudest dad moment?
No specific moment. I am proud of how each of them are different and yet all have some similarities with Ning and I. I am also very proud of how they are shaping up as the years go by. Maturing and becoming independent for instance.
If you could ask anyone, dead or alive, for their best parenting tip, who and what would that be?
Lee Kuan Yew & Wife. I would want to ask him in hindsight now if there is anything they would do differently in engaging and managing his children.
How do you manage technology exposure for your child/children. For eg, thoughts on screen time etc.
Once they turn 15, we have almost no restrictions. We believe that by that age, they are mature enough to handle the content and disciplined enough on usage.
Before 10 however, we are more strict and we put in place controls on what they see and do; no personal phone or laptop.
Above 12, we do let them have phones and laptops. It’s somewhere in between in terms of content restriction and usage.
We install Life360 to track the boys.
What hobbies do you and your children share?
We travel together once a year for at least 2 - 3 weeks so I think all love travel and the beach. We also love food. I try to inculcate a habit of reading, but it’s hard to compete with screens!
I really enjoy your short but well-written pieces like this!