First networking session kicks off for young parents in Fengshan Parents Club
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DPM Gan Kim Yong (centre), flanked by Ms Hazlina Abdul Halim, MP for East Coast GRC (right), taking over feeding duties from a mother in a light-hearted moment during a walkabout at Fengshan Hawker Centre on April 26, 2026.
ST PHOTO: CHONG JUN LIANG
- The Fengshan Parents Club launched its first networking session, attended by 50 parents, to connect families and share resources.
- MP Hazlina Halim is planning to host three sessions each year for parents to discuss topics. Club membership increased by 30%, now at some 100 families.
- DPM Gan Kim Yong emphasised the "kampung spirit" at the event, urging unity amidst global uncertainty. He also handed out baby bags.
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SINGAPORE – Around 50 people attended the inaugural networking session for young parents in Fengshan on April 26 to share with one another their experiences on topics such as breastfeeding, postnatal mental health, infant care and available support schemes.
The session is among the initiatives mooted by the Fengshan Parents Club, which was launched in October 2025 to support first-time parents and families with young children with access to resources and educational programmes.
Similar clubs have also taken root in other communities across the island, including Bukit Panjang.
Speaking to the media at the sidelines of the event, East Coast GRC MP Hazlina Abdul Halim, who oversees the Fengshan district, said her team and Fengshan grassroot leaders are looking to run the networking session three times a year.
She also said they constantly keep in touch with parents through home visits and community events to understand their needs.
Ms Hazlina added that the number of young families is growing in the estate, and having young children within the community “gives a breath of fresh air” and “brings joy” to the elderly and neigbours.
Around 100 families are now part of the Fengshan Parents Club, an increase from around 70 sign-ups at the time of its launch. It is free for Fengshan residents to join.
More experienced parents who have two or three children are welcome at the club, Ms Hazlina added, as its goal is to help all young families feel confident that they are not alone and have community resources to support them.
The club also provides an avenue for parents to share with each other the products and accessories that their children have outgrown, such as strollers and car seats.
DPM Gan Kim Yong (left) with two young parents and their child as he tours the Fengshan Parents Club booth at Fengshan Community Club on April 26.
ST PHOTO: CHONG JUN LIANG
Ms Joyce Sing, 44, joined the club recently because she wanted to learn more about managing young children’s tantrums and hear about other parents’ experiences.
With a pair of three-year-old twins and a seven-month-old infant under her care, the banking executive said she would appreciate tips on how to manage time as a working mother, as well as how to juggle cooking and spending enough time with her children.
The networking session took place alongside a carnival at Fengshan Community Club, which Deputy Prime Minister Gan Kim Yong attended as part of his ministerial community visits.
Speaking to the residents he met at the event, Mr Gan urged them to keep the kampung spirit.
He said: “As you look around, we live in a world that’s full of uncertainty, full of volatility. We don’t know what’s going to happen tomorrow, but we must stay together as one kampung, as one community, and as one people and one country.”
