Friesland Singapore: Forum Exploring "Mothers Balancing-It-All"

On Saturday, 11th October, Friesland Singapore, hosted a Working Mother’s Forum which drew the attention of more than 500 working and stay-at-home mothers.

The forum-helped mothers answer some of the concerns which were raised in a Working Mother’s Forum Survey conducted earlier this year. In response to the common challenges faced by mothers, especially exhaustion and lack of personal time, the theme of the forum “Mothers Balancing-It-All” was chosen.

For the benefit for those who missed out on the event, here are some of the highlights:

The Guest of Honour for the event, Mrs Yu-Foo Yee Shoon, Minister of State, Ministry of Community Development, Youth and Sports spoke about the importance of striking a healthy balance between work and family, especially for working mothers. During the interactive panel discussion, mothers were invited to pen down tips on how to better balance work and home on “Tip and Tricks” cards, and some of the ideas included:

1. Use travel time home from work as ME time

2. Communicate more with your family and employers

3. Find ways to multi-task and spend time with your children and family

The mothers also shared their wishes for all mothers in Singapore on the Working Mothers Forum Wishing Wall, which will be used to engage and influence policy makers and other influencers who can help make a difference to the lives of mothers in Singapore

Some of their wishes were:

1. More flexible work hours

2. Free infant care provided by the government

3. Better able to manage their time

Other invited panellists for the discussion were:

1. Dr Daniel Goh, Chair, Working Mothers Forum Panel of Experts

2. Ms Cheryl Liew, Vice Chair, Working Mothers Forum Panel of Experts

3. Dr Guchran J Singh, Co-founder, Cherie Hearts and winner of Work Life Achievement Awards 2008

Following the break, the mothers were given tips on time management and financial management respectively by Cheryl Liew, who is also co-founder of consultancy LifeWorkz; and Davy Lassagne, Wealth Creator from Meyado Wealth Management.