At the end of this month, former teacher Glenn Ang will be celebrating his ninth anniversary as a stay-home dad.

Quitting his job to play a major role at home was a 'family decision' taken with his wife when their eldest child, Scott, now nine, was six months old.

Both their mothers were still working at the time and could not help to look after Scott. And they did not want a domestic helper to look after him as they were 'not comfortable leaving an infant alone' with one.

So Mr Ang, 38, suggested that he would look after Scott while his wife, Dr Geraldine Oh, 34, continued her studies as an orthodontist.

He says: 'I felt lonely growing up and being a latch-key kid. I want to be around for my kids as they grow up and when they come home from school. It's important that I'm there.'

Dr Oh says: 'Initially, it was a tough decision to make. It was not common for a father to stay at home with the kids, and I was worried that Glenn would be affected by what others may say. But the pros far outweighed the cons. Now, most people say I'm very lucky when they know that Glenn is a stay-home dad.'

They are thankful that their parents did not disapprove of the decision. While it was 'tough giving up one person's income', they did their sums and found it manageable to live on just her salary.

Since then, they had two more children, seven-year-old Ryan and two-year-old Clare.

Mr Ang's day begins at 6am and he has to drive both sons to school. He also picks them up, helps them with their homework and looks after Clare. After he puts the children to bed at 9pm, he helps his wife with household chores. His mother- in-law, who retired three years ago, helps out by cooking the meals.

He says: 'Being a stay-home dad isn't really a problem since I was used to running the house when I was young. My parents were always working, so I had to prepare meals and do the laundry.'

With so much time devoted to his family, he meets friends only occasionally but makes it a point to have a weekly date night with his wife, to 'maintain my sanity'.

He admits that he misses the company of colleagues and, when his children are older, would consider returning to the workforce to pursue his dream of working with special-needs children.

But Mr Ang, who has a law degree, has no regrets being a full-time father: 'I would make the same decision again as I am happy doing what I'm doing.'

That is good news for Ryan, who says: 'He can play soccer with me. If he's not around, I'll feel bored and run around doing nothing.'

This article was first published in The Straits Times.