18 Oct 2025 – In celebration of Children’s Day, local charity Focus on the Family Singapore launched its FAM JAM Campaign and FAM JAM Fest to encourage parents and young children to bond over meals without screens, fostering stronger relationships and healthier habits. 

This initiative dovetails with the national Grow Well SG health promotion strategy that seeks to help families and children develop healthier habits from young, supporting the efforts of the Ministry of Health (MOH), Ministry of Social and Family Development (MSF) and Ministry of Education (MOE). 

“In fast-paced Singapore where families are often rushing from one activity to another, mealtimes are one of the rare moments in a day when everyone is in the same place, at the same time. Parental engagement at family mealtimes has been found to be a protective factor for child health outcome,” says Delia Ng, CEO of Focus on the Family Singapore. 

Yet, the reality of mealtimes with young children can be hurried, messy, or even stressful. 

To cope with this, it is not uncommon that parents resort to screen time to keep their children seated and quiet during meals. 

Chelsea Cheng, 33, a mother to a 3-year-old, relates to this experience, “When my son started on solids, the concept of eating together as family seemed impossible.” 

“He was quite picky about his food,” she shared, “We could not look away for a second without him making a mess.” 

As a result, Chelsea and her husband would often have their meals only after their son finished his. 

“When we went on a vacation this year, we gave in and allowed our son to watch videos on our phone during mealtimes so that we could catch up with our friends,” she recalled. 

“When we came back from the trip, it was even more challenging to have a screen-free meal from then on,” she admitted. 

Chelsea’s family is not alone in their battle for screen-free mealtimes. A 2021 survey by KK Women’s and Children’s Hospital (KKH) revealed that time-poor parents rely heavily on digital devices in their daily routines, including mealtimes. 

With a rise in digital usage among children, the Ministry of Health also rolled out new guidelines on screen time usage in January this year. 

The turning point for Chelsea came when one day, her son asked her, “Mama, can you eat with me?” 

It struck her that what her toddler wanted was companionship, and she experienced first-hand how “eating as a family can improve the appetite of children.” 

In celebration of children, Focus Singapore launched its FAM JAM Campaign to equip and encourage parents to relish the everyday moments with their young ones. 

As part of the campaign, a FAM JAM resource co-created by children aged 4 to 6 was distributed to 50,000 children and their families through 62 preschool centres and partners. The resource provided families with ideas to connect with one another at mealtimes. 

The social media campaign also ran from 3 to 17 October 2025, placing a spotlight on real-life family moments where families are encouraged to discover joy around mealtimes through messy memories, spreading joy, and curious chatter. 

The Families for Life Council is supportive of the FAM JAM campaign which shares the same mission of strengthening family bonds. Mr Ishak Ismail, Chairman of Families for Life Council, said: “We are delighted to support the FAM JAM Campaign as it encourages families to build stronger family connections and foster healthy habits. Quality family time, especially during meals and with no screens, creates the foundation for strong relationships and healthy habits as a family” 

Naveen Prakash, 35, responded to the digital campaign via an Instagram story about his 6-year-old daughter. 

“Mealtimes are important because they take our minds off the busyness of life, and it is where we focus on each other and have meaningful conversations,” he shared. 

“We try to share about our day during mealtimes, so that my daughter has the space and develops the habit of sharing any difficulties faced during the school day,” he added. 

More of such FAM JAM moments will be collated and featured at FAM JAM Fest, held at South Beach Avenue on 18 October 2025. Graced by Mr Ong Ye Kung, Minister for Health and Coordinating Minister for Social Policies, FAM JAM Fest includes an exciting quest where parents and young children can play and learn through everyday family moments and discover the joy around mealtimes. 

As part of the event, food and retail booths were also available at the FAM JAM Market. Amongst the retailers was Justin Chan, 32, co-creator of Recipes for Success, a playbook filled with prompts and practical tips to “calm chaos, curb picky eating, and spark conversation.” 

“Parenting did not come easily for me,” shared Justin, “I struggled with self-doubt and found myself slipping into unhealthy habits like binge-eating.” 

“Trying to live healthily for my family, I picked up cooking,” he continued. 

“Through cooking and community, I began discovering small ‘recipes’ that made a big difference. Simple habits, shared strategies, and practical systems that helped families around me thrive.” 

“With three young children, our table is full of chatter and play. We’ve swapped toys for simple games like ‘I Spy’ or ‘Freeze.’ When the kids make me freeze mid-sip, they burst into laughter. It’s a little chaos and a lot of connection,” he mused. 

“The joy of turning overwhelm into rhythm is what Recipes for Success is all about,” Justin explained, “I wanted more families to experience that kind of everyday win.” 

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FAM JAM Campaign resources and information on FAM JAM Fest can be readily accessed at www.famchamps.sg/famjam.  

About Focus on the Family Singapore 

Focus on the Family Singapore Limited is a local Christian charity with Institution of a Public Character (IPC) status. Recognising the challenges and disruptions in our increasingly digitised world, we seek to bring families closer by encouraging and equipping youth and individuals from all backgrounds towards strong and resilient relationships, starting at home. Learn more at www.family.org.sg.