The FFL offers a wide range of programmes to enhance and enrich family relationships. These include marriage preparation and mentoring, parenting and grandparenting programmes as well as parent-peer support groups. These programmes are offered at various towns nationwide through the Families for Life at Community (FFLC).
1. Expansion of Journey with You Marriage Mentoring
The Journey with You (JoY) marriage mentoring initiative was first trialled in December 2021 by the Ministry of Social and Family Development (MSF) and the Registry of Marriages (ROM) with a small group of newlywed couples. This initiative was designed to provide support to them throughout their first year of marriage by pairing them with Licensed Solemnisers who served as their mentors.
By tapping on the wisdom and experience of the marriage mentors, JoY aims to provide newly-weds with valuable advice and tips on how to navigate the challenges and joys of married life, and encourage couple to discuss key marriage topics. JoY mentors also facilitate connections to relevant resources through FFL@Community to ensure that couples can continue to be supported throughout their marriage and parenting journey, even in the years ahead.
To complement solemnisers’ current efforts, JoY will be expanded to include community volunteers who are trained as mentors to journey with newly-wed couples. Community mentoring will be introduced to a small group of couples on a voluntary basis for a start, starting from the second half of this year.
By extending its impact through community-based mentoring, JoY strives to create a supportive network of mentors within the community who can positively influence and enrich the lives of newlywed couples, which will in turn create a stronger and more resilient foundation for marriage and family relationships.
2. Purposeful Play for Parents with Children aged 0 to 6 years old
The Purposeful Play programme is a collaborative effort between the Ministry of Social and Family Development and the Parenting Research Centre from Australia. The programme, which was introduced in April 2023, is now available to all parents with children aged 0 to 6 years in Singapore.
Purposeful Play equips parents with 10 evidence-based strategies to create a stimulating environment to help children learn and develop, make use of everyday activities to strengthen parent-child relationships and promote children’s language and communication skills.
The programme consists of five in-person sessions, conducted over five consecutive weeks, with each session lasting 1.5 hours. The programme may also be conducted via a hybrid model with three sessions conducted in-person and two online. During these sessions, parents gain valuable insights and practical tools to support their child's development.
Purposeful Play also fosters a sense of community by providing parents with the opportunity to establish supportive relationships with other participating parents.
3. For Parents and Grandparents with Children aged up to 16 years old
The Positive Parenting Programme (Triple P) is an evidence-based programme that equips parents with techniques to promote the psychological, social, and emotional competence of their children aged up to 16 years. Triple P follows a tiered system that provides varying degrees of parental support based on individual needs and the age of the children.
Local evaluation studies conducted by the Ministry of Social and Family Development found that Triple P has positive effects on parenting and child outcomes. About 85% of parents have endorsed the programme as relevant to their parenting needs. Parents with secondary school-going children have shown a sustained 31% reduction in their emotional distress scores and a 22% reduction in their child’s problematic behavioural scores. Parents with primary school-going children have experienced a 15% improvement in their parenting satisfaction and efficacy scores, along with an 18% reduction in their child’s problematic behavioural scores.
Recognising the importance of grandparent-grandchild relationships, the Triple P Level 2 seminar series has been extended to include grandparents since June 2022. The aim is to help grandparents strengthen their bond with their grandchildren, which will benefit their grandchildren’s emotional development and well-being.
The Triple P Level 2 Seminar Series is designed for parents and grandparents of children aged up to 16 years old who are coping well with their children's/grandchildren's needs. This series consists of three seminars that cover topics such as positive parenting/grandparenting, raising confident and competent children/grandchildren, and raising resilient children/grandchildren.
Triple P Level 3 offers four one-to-one consultation sessions for parents who may require additional help in addressing mild to moderate behavioural difficulties displayed by their children.
Triple P Level 4 is tailored to parents of children with high or very high levels of behavioural difficulties. This programme provides parents with skills to decrease negative behaviour, teach emotional regulation and plan for challenging situations. It is conducted in a small group setting over five sessions followed by three phone consultation sessions.
For parents seeking more flexibility, the Triple P Online (TPOL) programme allows them to complete parenting modules independently and at their own pace. TPOL provides a toolbox of strategies to encourage positive behaviour, as well as prevent and manage misbehaviour. This interactive course includes videos, exercises, tips, and activities, making it suitable for parents of children and teens. For more information on Triple P, please visit https://familiesforlife.sg/pages/parenting.
4. Signposts
Signposts is an evidence-based programme that equips parents with skills to help them understand, prevent and manage their child’s difficult behaviour through the development of a personalised programme that suits the unique needs of their child. The programme consists of five in-person group sessions, with each session lasting 2.5 hours.
5. Marriage Preparation and Enrichment Programmes
Marriage Preparation Programmes
Marriage preparation programmes provide couples with the tools and resources to build and maintain a strong and resilient marriage. The programmes address key aspects of married life, such as communication and conflict management, couples’ expectations, roles and responsibilities, relationships with families and in-laws, and managing finances as a couple, family planning, among others.
These programmes are suitable for soon-to-wed or newly-wed couples attending a marriage preparation programme for the first time, with at least one partner being a Singaporean Citizen or Permanent Resident. Upon programme completion, couples are eligible to receive a $140 rebate for PREP (Prevention and Relationship Education programme) and $70 rebate for other marriage preparation programmes by MSF-approved providers. These programmes are suitable for couples aged 21 years and above and are offered through both in-person and virtual formats.
For civil marriages, social service agencies that provide marriage preparation programmes are Alive Community Network, Careworks Community Services, Cornerstone Community Services, Eagles Mediation & Counselling Centre, En Community Services Society, Catholic Family Life Marital and Family Therapy Service, Fei Yue - Family Central, Focus on the Family Singapore Ltd, Hearty Care Centre, Life Centre Community Services, Morning Star Community Services, REACH Counselling, and TOUCH Community Services.
Online Prevention and Relationship Education Programme (ePREP)
Couples who seek more flexible, self-paced learning may choose ePREP, an online programme based on the PREP (Prevention and Relationship Education Programme) approach, comprising six self-paced modules covering topics such as communication, conflict management, commitment, friendship, and problem-solving.
ePREP has been proven to help couples learn to protect and preserve fun and friendship and enhance their commitment and love for each other.
ePREP is suitable for soon-to-wed couples preparing for marriage and newly-wed couples within their first two years of their marriage. To be eligible, at least one of the spouses must be a Singaporean Citizen or Singapore Permanent Resident.
Social service agencies that provide ePREP are Allkin Singapore, Care Corner Singapore Ltd, Fei Yue Community Services, Lakeside Family Services, Methodist Welfare Services and Morning Star Community Services.
Prepare/Enrich - Marriage Enrichment Programme
The Prepare/Enrich Marriage Enrichment Programme is a complimentary programme specifically designed for married couples. It comprises four 3-hour face-to-face sessions or three 4-hour face-to-face sessions providing couples with opportunities to identify their strengths and growth areas, gain insights into their relationship dynamics, commitment levels, personality, spiritual beliefs and family systems and learn proven relationship skills with the support of a Certified Facilitator and the Prepare/Enrich assessment inventory tool.
The Prepare/Enrich marriage enrichment programme is suitable for couples who have been married for more than two years with at least one partner being a Singaporean Citizen or a Singapore Permanent Resident.