SINGAPORE – The time has come for Zoe Tay’s eldest son Brayden to take the rite of passage to go from “ah boy to man”.

The veteran home-grown actress, 55, shared on Instagram on Jan 3 photos of her 18-year-old making his first trip to Pulau Tekong for his basic military training.

“A boy in my family has grown up. Going from boy to man,” wrote Tay, posting photos of the jetty and of herself with her arms around a shaved Brayden, who was carrying a big duffle bag.

Tay, who has two other sons, Ashton, 16, and Nathan, 13, included the hashtags #allthebest and #thetimehascometoprotectourcountry in Chinese.

She also shared a reel on Instagram Stories of the sea on the ride to Tekong.

The video was captioned with a traditional Irish blessing: “Always remember to forget the troubles that passed away. But never forget to remember the blessings that come each day.”

Many commented on how quickly time has flown by, while other local celebrities, such as Aileen Tan and Lina Ng, congratulated Tay for having a son who “is becoming a man”.