From Parents to Parents -Chan Li Ye

Health Is Wealth

Written by Tanya Shroff

This article is part of Active Parents’ From Parents to Parents series, brought to you in collaboration with Republic Polytechnic, School of Management and Communication. 

As one of the winning submissions for Active Parents’ end-of-year campaign ‘From Parents to Parents: Let’s Hear It From You’, Mr Chan Li Ye, 35, and Ms Tan Chee Yun, 33, make up one family who keeps up with an active lifestyle.

Even when Covid came their way, the couple did not let it stop them from staying healthy and keeping fit as a family. Adapting with the times, they explore new activities and places with their two children, aged 5 years and 7 months.

“Now that we are working from home, we try to run two to three times a week, around our neighbourhood after work and over the weekend, we would go to our relatives’ place for a swim, or climb the Bukit Timah Hill,” Mr Chan shares.

To help the kids stay active even when they would be tired or restless, Ms Tan, shares that one way would be to allow them to play at the playground after classes, or bringing their bicycle to school and cycle back.

“Even after a long day, when we got down for dinner, she would request to cycle to the coffee shop. Though it is only 5-10 minutes, it’s good for her to keep active,” Ms Tan shares.

Enrolling their children in a childcare centre that incorporates games and sports into their curriculum, helps them to instill an active lifestyle. Ms Tan said: “The school has reduced their outdoor activities, but they do still allow the children to play some sports indoors or outside in small groups, knowing that children really like to be active and participate in games.”

Despite not having much of a background in sports, Mr Chan, believes that leading an active lifestyle is important since young, as he wants his children to uphold the same level of energy and health even as they grow older.

“In Covid times, it’s even more important to stay healthy and build our immunity, and we do so by exercising regularly as a family,” Ms Tan added.