Dear fellow FLAs,

School's out and the June holidays are here. Many of us will be setting aside time to bond with our kids and family. To provide opportunities for families to spend time together, the National Family Council, together with MCYS, has put together a wide array of exciting family activities during the month-long National Family Celebrations from 25 May to 25 June 2011.

This year, we are calling all Singaporeans, young and old, to ‘Switch ‘n’ Click’ to maintain strong family relationships. Family members are encouraged to put themselves into one another’s shoes. For example, grandma as teenage schoolboy, daddy as busy working mum, and teenage son as stay-home caregiver ah ma. This will help family members better understand each other’s perspectives and the challenges they face. In turn, this will help to improve communication within the family. “Seek first to understand, then to be understood,” as Steven Covey puts it in his 7 Habits for Highly Effective People.

Why not Switch 'n' Click at the workplace too? Have your own version of Family Celebrations. We all wear multiple hats in life. For me, I'm a manager, a civil servant, a mum of a young child, a wife, a daughter, a sister, a daughter-in-law, a sister-in-law and much more. Every role comes with its own responsibilities and we need to harmonise them to lead a productive and happy life. Think creatively and we could use this national campaign to better engage our employees.

Some ideas you may wish to consider include:

• Run a series of lunchtime family life talks for employees in different life-stages in June. For example:
  Week 1 – Marriage Enrichment talks for those married
  Week 2 – Work-life harmony for sandwiched couples with elderly parents and young children
  Week 3 – Dating tips for singles
  Week 4 – Parenting talk for those with teenage children
  Click here for a comprehensive menu of family life programmes
• Participate in Eat With Your Family Day on 27 May, Friday. Allow your employees to leave the office at 5.00pm to return home to prepare/gather for a family meal. Click here to take part.
• Organise a Family Day in June and invite your employees and their family members to gather and connect. Invent some simple, interactive games along the Switch 'n' Click theme. For example, everyone gets assigned a role, makes costumes out of art materials and parade around the office building!

Let’s Switch ‘n’ Click this June!

Cheers,

Cynthia Lee, Family Education Department, MCYS