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Tag: Family
Double-edged Sword? Do grandparents help build strong families?
A study by Catholic Family Life found that strong families are undergirded by strong marriages. Four factors are key: family commitment, conflict resolution, marital satisfaction and family spirituality. But grandparents and intergenerational relationships could be a "double-edged sword" if values and attitudes are not aligned.
- 12 June 2025
Divorcing? Please Still Try to Cooperate for the Sake of Your Child
In post-divorce custody battles, it is remarkable how Singapore law strives to preserve the relationship of children with both parents despite the breakdown of the marriage. Joint custody is the norm, and courts have often encouraged divorcing couples to set aside their hostility for the sake of their children.
- 10 June 2025
Marriage – Yay or Nay?
Let me start with a confession. When I was approached to write a commentary about marriage, my first reaction was “No thanks!”
- 23 May 2025
Non-interference: Parents Decide, Grandparents Follow?
In Singapore, there is an important social norm of "non-interference" between grandparents and parents. It implicitly recognises that parents have primary responsibility for raising children. Dialogue, mutual respect and understanding are important, if we want to move forward constructively.
- 16 May 2025
“Mom, Dad, Where Are You?” The Right to Know One’s Natural Parents
Adoptive children have a deep desire to seek their biological parents in an effort to find themselves. It touches on deep and profound questions, involving one’s identity and origin. This right to know one’s natural parents has been recognised as a legal and moral right in Singapore.
- 6 May 2025
Fatal Child Abuse of Megan Khung: Can we do better?
Every child abused is one child too many. In this process of soul-searching and learning to do better in our protection of children following the death of Megan Khung, it would help to reduce the level of blame levelled at the preschool and social service agency involved. Furthermore, we should also appreciate her grandmother’s dilemmas in her response, and the wider ecosystem surrounding the incident which involved drugs and family breakdown.
- 21 April 2025
Budget 2025 (Part 3 of 3): Systemic and Structural Changes to Help Large Families
In the last of our three-part series on the Large Families Scheme announced in Budget 2025, we look at how large families may be better supported in their journeys, in a more systemic and structural manner. Such changes include transport, COE, housing, tax reliefs and more
- 12 March 2025
Online Sexual Harms: Why We Urgently Need More Protections
With our high digital connectivity, the lines between public and private life are often blurred or breached. This is especially serious in the context of online sexual harms, which disproportionately affect women, children and lower-income groups. More needs to be urgently done to combat online harms and protect the common good
- 20 January 2025
What are “Good Enough” Marriages?
From a child’s perspective, “good enough” marriages are those where there is a low level of conflict between parents. Based on research, it would be better for children in the long term to reconcile such “good enough” marriages instead of divorce.
- 14 June 2024
Can We Afford (More) Divorces?
Divorces have many social costs, and this affects the economy and taxpayers. Are we prepared to do more to save marriages, for the sake of the next generation?
- 3 May 2024