1 In celebration of Singapore's 46th birthday, U Family, together with over 300 babies and toddlers, took part in an extraordinary birthday bash, “Baby’s Day Out 2011”, organised by U Family, a unit under the National Trades Union Congress, which advocates the building of strong and happy families by championing work-life integration for working families. Babies as young as 6 months old and children as old as 12 years old not only had the opportunity to enjoy a spectacular music extravaganza of popular children and national day songs presented by The Joyful Sound Orchestra, they were also treated to puppet shows and “live” music performance. At the event, Guest of Honour, Mr Zainudin Nordin, MP for Bishan-Toa Payoh GRC, launched the first-ever iPhone Application in Singapore, to help parents locate family-friendly facilities near them.
2 Family Fun, the iPhone Application, developed specially for parents, by parents, is an application specifically developed to meet the needs of parents with young children. In a poll conducted by U Family among 185 members, it was found that parents with young children would like to know where to access the nearest family-friendly facilities such as nursing room, diaper changing room, children play area, family restaurant etc. in Singapore when they go on outings with their children. Many could not locate these facilities easily when they are on the move due to the limited knowledge on the location of such family-friendly facilities.
3 Parenting is never easy. However, the use of techonology will make the job slightly easier and more interesting. The Family Fun app will allow members of the public, to locate the nearest family friendly facilities in their area when they are out on family trips. Being a user-generated content application, parents can share their photos and reviews on the application so that more families can benefit from the app. Parents can also share available content via their own social networks on Facebook, Twitter, and email in real time.
4 Other than family-friendly facilities, Family Fun can also access information on family events and places of interest easily, allowing families to plan for quality time together. The application is provided free-of-charge to all.
5 Emma Grace, one of the U Family members said on U Family’s facebook fan page, “I was at a shopping mall one day when I noticed a family coming into the toilet looking specifically for children's toilets only to find none. I think this Family Fun app would be extremely useful for families with children! I would like to thank U Family for taking the initiative to develop it!”
6 “Family Fun is an application U Family developed specifically for the love of our children. We started the resource for our busy working parents who are stretched for time to look for family friendly places and activities for their families. Right now, we have mapped more than 300 sites in the application. Hopefully in time, with the help of our growing and vibrant community, fathers and mothers who love Family Fun will contribute to the application and share their experiences. There is a lot of emotional value that families can get visiting these places while enjoying themselves together. We hope to achieve this by making family outings easier for families and helping families search for interesting places to spend their time together,” said Ms Toh Hwee Tin, Director of U Family, NTUC.
