Me and my wife love kids - that’s why we decided not to have any. It’s the best decision we have ever made. Having kids is more than just having enough money and time. The government’s main KPI is the GDP so there is just so much they will do and in the first place, that should not be your first consideration in bringing a life to this world now. My wife is a pre-school teacher and she has seen numerous parents who in her opinion, are just not good parents. I will stop here as some people will say we think too much and complicate a simple thing. My only hope is that people will think carefully and be very honest with themselves before bringing a life to this world. Don’t let emotions and peer pressures affect your decision.
The house-husband part? Agree. Some husbands are very good with their babies. More patient too. My Canadian lecturer too. He is the one who takes care of his baby girl more than his wife (and is also a lecturer). He is the one who puts his girl to bed, nightly. Salute fathers like him.
With brith rate 0,97 . Singapura🇸🇬 Will return to Majority the native Malay population in the future . Both the culture and way of life of the Malay people Will return to Singapore island
You will be surprised many companies still advocate NOT wfh... Cost of living is the main concern for raising a kid. Last time 1 parent can support a house and having 4-5 kids is not much of a problem. Now both parents need to work to support a house
Considering that the Malay fertility rate has maintained itself considerably well over the last decade at 1.83 (2022), the costs cannot be the main picture we made them out to be.
Mostly a problem in developed country. In less developed and less educated,making babies still booming 😅 In developed country,people enjoy living their live and doesn't want to suffer a little for their children. In less developed country,many people not spoiled by socmed yet and still have older way of thinking to have baby. I think this probably the main reason. Lifestyle has changed.
I would argue that costs is one but not the main factor as people will make adjustments to their life to make it work if they really wanted it. I feel it is more because of a change in mindset that the newer generation do not want to lose their freedom (e.g travel freely, etc) or career progression, or compromise on their quality of life by having kids. That’s why despite various government monetary incentives over the years, we hardly see significant improvement in the fertility rate. It is a personal decision for couples and if their mindset is not having kids, it will be hard to change.
As someone who loves to have more than 1 kid in SG, i think there is more work that needs to be done on increasing fertility subsidies for couples who really want to have kids.
Thanks to the team for discussing this. It's come to a point where many countries are experiencing this same issue. And its hard to reverse this trend unless as a society, we adopt a complete mindset shift towards work and quality of life....Time to seriously ask ourselves what kind of perceptions of these things do we want the next generation to embrace and cultivate in their children and grandchildren, if we truly want to increase birth rates....
To all the people on the fence worrying about the future of their potential kids, if you can take care of your retirement, just know that every generation has to live their own boons and banes and humankind has survived so long because of the ability to find solutions. You can do your best to provide for your kid but you have to let your kids live their life and future, including bearing the consequences of their own actions to actualize their future. Hope this perspective may provoke some thoughts
Agreed. It's humbling to note that despite all the challenges faced by each generation, from famine, plagues, economic collapse, civil unrest, war, heartbreaks, and countless other tragedies and setbacks, we are all standing here because of a single unbroken chain of torch passing successfully between each generation. Hence, there should be some optimism and hope that life will find a way.
People always talk about cost of raising a child and hence many prefer pet ownership instead. Keeping pets is just as expensive too, but sadly many don’t realise this until their pets become sick and old, which probably explains why pet abandonment rates are high in Singapore. A visit to the vet costs way more than a visit to the doctor. For vet services, there is no cheaper alternative. If a baby needs to see a doctor, there are many alternatives at different price points - polyclinic, GP clinic, paediatrician. How much it costs to raise a child really depends on the choices we make. There are hand-me downs from friends and relatives, second hand car seats and prams that you can buy online. You don’t have to try and keep up with the Joneses and blindly follow trends on social media like having extravagant gender reveal parties or baby showers, buying branded clothes for babies etc. Child rearing can be simple and uncomplicated and inexpensive
Please. Pets live on average for 12-13 years? Their entire lifetime of vet fees is nowhere near what you would need to raise a child. Sure, there's no need to be materialistic or extravagant, but raising a child is more than just giving them a roof over their head, putting clothes on their back, and putting food on the table. That is literally the bare minimum. Today's society is very competitive, and if one can't afford to give a child their best for their educational needs, indulge some extracurricular activities, and spend lots of time with them, just do not have a child.
I’m not saying that having a child is cheaper than raising a pet, I’m merely pointing out that raising a pet is very costly too and that a lot of people don’t realise it until the pet becomes old and sickly and chalks up huge vet fees. I’m comparing vet fees to medical fees, Not vet fees to total expenses of raising a child to adulthood (18 yrs?) Nobody said child rearing is easy, definitely a lot of time, effort and love required - not just money alone. I know of parents who can’t afford tuition, extra curricular activities or spend a lot of time with their children because they are busy making ends meet. Their children may not be doing super well academically but they are sensible and mature and they do give their best in school. I believe that we do have support systems in place for people who need help. Then again, perhaps with the emergence of A.I. humans no longer need a replacement rate of 2 to sustain the economy…but I digress 😅
Agree with you, and I don't think parents need to sent their babies and toddlers to expensive classes. No issue with parents that sent their kids to tuition because their kids are not doing well in school especially if parents don't have the knowledge to help their kid. Not against parents sending their kids to extracurricular activities if their kids request. The problem is when parents choose to send their kids to classes that is not really necessary.
How many Readers here dare to admit that there are still Family Values here ? Many Family Members go separate ways, ..watch TV, Smart Devices during Meals, yes/no ? Young Couples prefer to buy pet dogs, cats rather than make real human babies, True / false ? What's the crux of these issues ?
There's a chinese saying 船到桥头自然直 , i have 3 kids . Don't know what i will become if i don't have them in my life . Busy for who , come home for who , doing things out of love for who ?
I think the part of the issue is the mindset shift in the younger generation. Now it is all about me, myself and I. There’s too much focus on doing things that will make myself happy and some equate happiness to having less inconveniences and more resources i.e. time and money to please myself hence having children which entails an element of self-sacrifice is incongruent with this mindset. So they are busy for themselves, come home for themselves and doing things out of love for themselves.
saying its "Expensive" is saying very little , there are many low earning families who have a lot of children , some turn out fine , some not so good . i think it is more accurate to say that you dont want to have children because you do not have enough funds to support a young life , WHILE maintaining your current lifestyle or close to it . or you just not willing to compromise on your current lifestyle ... because ohhhh boy ARE YOU GONNA compromise hahahah
With brith rate 0,97 . Singapura🇸🇬 Will return to Majority the native Malay population in the future . Both the culture and way of life of the Malay people Will return to Singapore island
