Parents have the toughest job in the world. They work 24/7, teaching mischievous children life skills from plain table manners to riding a bike, bringing them along for all-expense paid holidays, and preparing every meal to ensure they are well-nourished. This post goes out to all grown-up kids out there, as it’s finally time we turn things around to take care of our parents.
There’re many articles on child-friendly places that parents can take their toddlers to, but not many suggest how our generation of millennials can show our parents we love them. Here are 8 things you can do to bond with your folks!
All Singaporeans – especially the older generation – love a good deal. Plus, many of us have crossed the border just to visit City Square Mall. But there’s also way more that JB has to offer besides City Square Mall, including a Malaysian Daiso where everything goes for RM2 (that’s what, 70 cents?!) or the secret beach at Danga Bay.
Just grab our suitcases and get out of town! Source
A day trip to JB is probably the cheapest holiday there is out of Singapore. And it’s barely an hour away. The moment you cross the border, you can share that special feeling of escaping from life in our fast-paced city.
Medical checkups can sometimes be worrying. Often our parents procrastinate when it comes to checkups because they are time-consuming and expensive. But these regular examinations get increasingly important as they age, and as children, you can help by taking the day off to accompany them!
At the same time, keep them updated about issues that concern them. Take CPF, for example. It would help if we are aware of recent enhancements like the option of spousal transfer if one parent has a much greater sum in their CPF than the other. Also, there’s been changes in CPF contribution rates for older workers this year that’ll massively help in your retirement plans. These tidbits of info can be useful for your folks and are available online, but some elders don’t know of them yet. Take this opportunity to keep them in the loop.
Check out CPF’s Facebook page here for more information!
Let your parents have a taste of life as a youngster today and bring them on a cafe-hopping adventure! With so many new cafes popping up every month, we tend to think that only our friends will enjoy them. But it’ll turn out to be a refreshing experience for your parents too – finding out how their children spend their time and entering into the unique world of themed cafes.
If your parents aren’t keen on traveling all the way to town for pancakes and waffles, here’re some neighbourhood cafes you can explore in your T-shirt and shorts. P.S. Heartland rental rates = cheaper cafe food!
Help them find a new hangout place below your house! Source: @supergurl
Find out how to get ~anywhere~ from your home.
We are a lucky generation. With technology on our side, we never have to worry about getting lost or not knowing where to find the best coffee. Instead of letting your gadgets divide your family, why not share apps recommendations that will make your parents’ lives easier!
What’s general knowledge to us is a real struggle for our parents, who’re clueless about many apps that exist today. Introduce them to AXS m-Station, which lets you pay for bills and fines on your mobile, or Carousell, where you can easily sell the old items piling up in your homes. Next time they ask for help, think back to how patient they were with you as a child and guide them in navigating through the confusing world of technology!
Remember when your parents used to bring you to Downtown East and Escape Theme Park during the holidays? They’ve since underwent an extensive revamp in late 2015 and reopened as D’Resort, where you can spend some quality time with a family stay-cay over the weekend!
Alternatively, there are other non-hotel staycations that you can check out, most of which have gone under the radar. If you need a break, spend a weekend with your parents – lose your phones, disconnect, and spend a weekend reconnecting with your family!
Bring them on a nostalgic trip down memory lane as you explore the areas where your parents spent their childhood days. It’ll be an invigorating change with this trip along familiar old roads, igniting conversations about stories of their past. Be prepared for conversations about how they used to eat 50 cents hokkien mee, where they learnt to ride a bike for the first time, or how that brand new shopping mall used to be an open grass field where they had their first date.
There are also free walking tours available to rediscover our history and heritage, such as Singapore Footprints, which reveals the stories behind our local food and architecture. Take the road less travelled and be a tourist for a day with your parents! You won’t look at Singapore in the same way again!
Living healthily becomes more and more essential as our parents grow older. There’s no better way to kick off an active lifestyle than to participate in a fun run together. Pull out those laces and participate in one today!
More than mere runs for all the #fitspo enthusiasts, many races are uniquely themed to shove monotony out of the window. Get picture-perfect snaps with The Color Run that prides itself the “Happiest 5K on the Planet” or test your teamwork at Mizuno Ekiden where you “Race as Four, Run as One”. Or even take part in Urgent Run for UN World Toilet Day and give a crap for people who don’t have access to proper sanitation!
There was a time when your parents’ social life was your social life, and your first playmates were fellow kids at their gatherings. Now that you’re all grown up, having you tag along for their class reunions becomes more of a gesture than a chore. Taking time out of your schedules to be part of their social activities speaks volumes.
You’d probably be the go-to youngster in a house full of uncles and aunties, so brace yourself for questions about your love life and things they’ve seen on the internet. It’ll help to let them know the important things in life that they need to know. For example, the walkway from the bus stop is FINALLY going to be sheltered, or telling them they have the option to start their CPF LIFE payouts later. For every year they defer the start of their payouts, their monthly payouts increase by up to 7%! Score brownie points and your folks would be proud.
Our parents will always stay as our parents, but that doesn’t mean that they can’t be our friends too. How many of us know about our folks’ favourite travel destination or their most embarrassing moment? It’s time we find out about their personal stories, and create exciting memories together while we’re at it!
Moving forward, we can also play a bigger role in their lives and learn about things that matter to them as they age. Get involved and head to the CPF Big R Chat website to find out more.
This post was brought to you by the Central Provident Fund Board.
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