Singapore just gave working parents something genuinely useful: 8 days of government-paid childcare leave per year for every parent with a child aged 12 and below. If both parents are working, that's 16 days between you. The question most families are now quietly asking isn't whether to use them. It's: what do we actually do with these days? Weekdays with your child are a different animal from weekends — less crowded, less scheduled, less rushed. Here are 8 ideas that use them well.
Singapore's updated pro-family support package includes several measures specifically designed to support working parents of young children. The most immediately practical of these is the expanded childcare leave entitlement:
The childcare leave specifically covers parents whose youngest qualifying child is 12 years and below — which happens to align precisely with Art Journey's children's workshop age range (ages 4–12). For the full, authoritative details on eligibility and conditions, check the Ministry of Manpower's official childcare leave guidance.
Most family activities are designed for weekends — which means most of the time, you're competing with every other family in Singapore who had the same idea. The queue at KidsSTOP. The crowd at Jurong Lake Gardens. The fully booked art workshop that you left it too late to register for.
A weekday childcare leave day is different. Studios have open slots. Gardens are quiet. Libraries have space. Hawker centres at lunchtime have tables. The city, on a Tuesday at 10am with your child, feels like it belongs to you in a way it never does on Saturday.
More importantly: when a parent takes a day off specifically to be with their child — not a public holiday, not a Saturday that happened to be free, but an actual working day they chose to spend with their son or daughter — that child notices. That deliberate choice is what turns a regular Tuesday into a memory.
You both get a canvas. You both get paint. You both make something — badly, imperfectly, and without anyone grading you. Your child makes a painting that looks like genuine art. You make a painting that your child diplomatically describes as "interesting." You both take your canvases home, hang them next to each other, and the Tuesday you spent making them becomes part of the wall.
On weekdays, Art Journey's art jamming sessions have better slot availability than weekends. Bring your child for a themed kids workshop (ages 4–12) while you do your own canvas at the adjacent jamming table — or join the same session and create side by side. Afterwards, there's a café. You get coffee. They get a juice. You both look at what you made.
One of Singapore's largest waterfront gardens, redesigned and expanded in recent years — and still underused by most West Singapore families. On a weekday morning before 11am, the lakeside paths are genuinely peaceful. Bring a sketchbook. Let your child draw what they see — a duck, a flower, the reflection of a bridge on the water. Walk slowly. Stop often. Have no agenda.
The garden pairs well with a morning Art Journey session at nearby Plantation Plaza — take Bus 872 from Chinese Garden MRT to the studio, or drive between both spots in under 10 minutes. A full creative day: nature first, studio second.
KidsSTOP is Singapore's dedicated children's science exploration centre — hands-on STEM stations designed specifically for young children, with themed zones covering construction, water play, supermarket simulation, and early science concepts. For children aged 2–8 with a parent who is genuinely curious about how their child explores and learns, this is one of the best hours you can spend in Singapore. On a weekday, you'll actually be able to stand next to your child at each station without competing for space.
A Singapore original — an indoor snow chamber maintained at -5°C, with a snow slope, igloo, and Arctic-themed play zone. Children who have never seen or touched snow experience something genuinely memorable here. It's not a theme park. It's not a mall playground. It's actual snow, in Singapore, on a Tuesday morning — and the expression on your child's face when they touch it for the first time is the kind of thing parents describe years later.
Pair Snow City with a KidsSTOP visit next door for a full morning in Jurong, then cross to Plantation Plaza in the afternoon for an Art Journey session. That's a day your child will describe in detail to their friends for the next week.
The Jurong Regional Library inside JEM is one of Singapore's largest public libraries — air-conditioned, free to enter, with an excellent children's section and a dedicated programmes calendar. On a weekday, it's calm enough to actually sit with your child and read together, browse the shelves without being jostled, or attend a storytelling session if one is running. Let your child choose 5 books to borrow. Take them home. Read them over the week. This is one of the highest-return, zero-cost uses of a childcare leave day.
Tengah is Singapore's newest housing estate, designed around a car-free town centre and an extensive network of green corridors, butterfly trails, and eco parks. The Tengah Eco Walk runs directly alongside the area where Art Journey is located — making a morning nature walk followed by a studio session a genuinely natural pairing. The butterfly trail is particularly good with primary school children who are at the age of observation and curiosity. Look for species together. Draw what you find. Have no destination.
Pick a dish your child has always wanted to learn to make. Go to the wet market together in the morning — let them choose the vegetables, watch you negotiate with the fishmonger, carry a basket. Come home and cook together. Let them crack the eggs, measure the rice, taste and adjust the seasoning, set the table. Eat what you made. This is one of the most complete childcare leave days possible: market in the morning, cooking at midday, eating together in the afternoon. No booking, no entrance fee, no commute. Just your kitchen and two pairs of hands.
Save at least one of your eight days for this. Wake up without an alarm. Go to the hawker centre near your home for breakfast — the one you always pass but never stop at on a school day morning. Let your child order what they want. Sit long enough to drink a full cup of coffee while it's still hot. Walk somewhere without a destination. Stop when something catches your eye. Go home when you feel like it.
No booking. No agenda. No "we should probably head back soon." Just a parent and a child on a Tuesday morning with nowhere specific to be. Your child will grow up and remember that you once took a day off and spent it exactly like this — and that memory will be more vivid than any activity you could have scheduled.
How to use all 8 days well: Don't treat childcare leave like a holiday camp schedule. The best distribution is roughly: 2–3 days for planned outings (KidsSTOP, Snow City, Art Journey), 2–3 days for simple neighbourhood activities (library, eco walk, hawker breakfast), and 1–2 days deliberately unplanned. The unplanned days are often the ones both parent and child remember most clearly.
For more ideas on what to do with your child during school holidays and weekday free time, see our guide on how to keep kids creatively busy during the school holidays.
Weekday slots available Monday to Friday, 10am–9pm. Parent-child art jamming, kids workshops (ages 4–12), and the café are all open. 12 minutes from Jurong East MRT. No weekend rush, no crowded carpark. Just you, your child, and two canvases.
Book a Weekday SessionUnder Singapore's updated pro-family policy, working parents with at least one child aged 12 and below are entitled to 8 days of government-paid childcare leave per year. Both parents are entitled separately, meaning a dual-income family can pool up to 16 dedicated days per year. For full eligibility details and conditions, visit the Ministry of Manpower's official guidance at mom.gov.sg.
Childcare leave is generally taken on working days (weekdays). The specific terms — how much notice is required and how leave is applied for — depend on your employer's HR policy within the MOM guidelines. Most employers process childcare leave applications in the same way as annual leave. Check with your HR department for your company's specific process.
Yes. Art Journey is open daily from 10am to 9pm, Monday to Friday included. Weekday sessions typically have better slot availability than weekends, and the studio is noticeably less crowded — meaning children get more instructor attention and parents have more space. Booking 2–3 days in advance is usually sufficient for weekday sessions, compared to 1–2 weeks for popular weekend slots.
Yes. Art Journey's family art jamming sessions are designed for parents and children to create side by side — each with their own canvas, materials, and creative direction. Parents can also do their own art jamming at an adjacent table while their child attends a guided kids workshop. The café is available during sessions for parents who want coffee while their child creates.
Art Journey is approximately 12 minutes from Jurong East MRT (EW24/NS1) by bus. Bus 870 runs directly from Jurong East Bus Interchange to Plantation Plaza, where the studio is located on level 4. By car, it's under 10 minutes from Jurong East, with free parking available in the Plantation Plaza carpark on weekday mornings.
The activities are broadly suitable for this age range, with some variation. Art Journey (ages 4–12), Jurong Lake Gardens (all ages), NLB library (all ages), Tengah Eco Walk (all ages), and the home-based ideas (cooking, slow morning) work across the full range. KidsSTOP at Science Centre is specifically designed for children aged 18 months to 8 years. Snow City works well from around age 4. The illustrated storytelling and market visits work best from age 5 upwards.
The Ministry of Manpower's website (mom.gov.sg) provides authoritative details on childcare leave entitlements. The Ministry of Social and Family Development (msf.gov.sg) and families.gov.sg cover the broader pro-family package including Baby Bonus, MediSave grants, and HDB priority schemes. All three sites have been updated with the latest 2025–2026 policy changes.