Why is MCYS so 'sexist' in offering childcare subsidies ?

[eothian]

I wonder why MCYS is so ‘sexist’ in offering childcare subsidies (S$300 for both working parents, and S$150 for non-working mothers) ? To determine if you get the full subsidy of S$300 really depends if your wife is working full-time or clock 56 hours per month. What about the men ? Are they assuming that men must always be the ‘bread-winner’ of the family and hence under both circumstances, he has to work. But what if he’s retrenched ? Would the child be entitled to the same S$300 childcare subsidy or back to S$150 ?


Also does it really mean being a domestic engineer (housewife) is not recognised as contributing to the society ? What if the women wants to get a job and cannot find one during this economic crisis ?

Do you think any parents will consider having more children at this point of time if we cannot get past this issue of not getting more subsidies during this time of uncertainty ? It is not as if the childcare centres are lowering their rates any moment now.

[jedamum]

eothian:

Are they assuming that men must always be the 'bread-winner' of the family and hence under both circumstances, he has to work. But what if he's retrenched ?

Hi,
Based on the norm, the husband is the breadwinner. Policies cannot be made to suit everyone. If you feel that you have a genuine case (ie family in financial difficulties), you can write in to the respective agencies to ask for exemption. I'm sure they will obliged to certain unique cases. And if that fails, you can always write in to the papers (forum) to highlight your case to get maximum exposure and speedy replies from these agencies.

They are giving out more incentives to FTWM rather than SAHM cos it is one of their objectives of getting women to work.

[eothian]

jedamum:

Hi,

Based on the norm, the husband is the breadwinner. Policies cannot be made to suit everyone. If you feel that you have a genuine case (ie family in financial difficulties), you can write in to the respective agencies to ask for exemption. I'm sure they will obliged to certain unique cases. And if that fails, you can always write in to the papers (forum) to highlight your case to get maximum exposure and speedy replies from these agencies.

They are giving out more incentives to FTWM rather than SAHM cos it is one of their objectives of getting women to work.

Hi Jedamum

Thanks for your explanation. Sometimes, it is not because women do not want to work. It's because there's no job for them during this current economic crisis.

So I guess MCYS should revise their childcare subsidy scheme epecially during this time of economic uncertainty because at any one time, either one or even both parents can be out of job or looking for new jobs.

Again, I agree what you said that policies drafted are not meant for everyone. But I hope policies can be revised accordingly from situations to situations because what policies work for last year might not necessarily work for this year. :celebrate:

[mintcc]

[quote]S$300 for both working parents, and S$150 for non-working mothers[/quote]
actually, I think subsidies should be the same for non-working mothers too especially in this economic climate. After all, if the mother is not working, it means that the family has less income to spare. Some more sometimes it is a chicken and egg thing. Mums need to take care of kids so don't have time to go look for work / upgrade so they can get work and hence might be stuck in the same economic situation.

[eothian]

I guess what you said is true ! Non-working mothers are not contributing to the family incomce and hence they should equally be given the same subsidises or even more. In today’s context, it is best for the childcare centres to lower their rates (otherwise people will be forced to keep kids at home) or MCYS is to revise their current subsidy policies to deal with the current crisis.

[kelamel]

You know i have some clients whom are single mothers and they do not even get any subsidy because they are unmarried but are working.


Each time they seek help, they were asked to get married to get the grant…

[ChiefKiasu]

kelamel:

You know i have some clients whom are single mothers and they do not even get any subsidy because they are unmarried but are working.


Each time they seek help, they were asked to get married to get the grant.....

Now, that's tough. I didn't know that marriage is a pre-requisite for childcare subsidy. I've always thought that the goal of the childcare subsidy is to encourage women, married or not, to return to the workforce.

[GarangMama]

ChiefKiasu:

kelamel:

You know i have some clients whom are single mothers and they do not even get any subsidy because they are unmarried but are working.


Each time they seek help, they were asked to get married to get the grant.....

Now, that's tough. I didn't know that marriage is a pre-requisite for childcare subsidy. I've always thought that the goal of the childcare subsidy is to encourage women, married or not, to return to the workforce.

Actually single mothers have it real tough - they don't get the full maternity benefits (4 months leave, cash bonus, childcare subsidies, maid levy, etc etc). That's why there's been a debate in Forum about granting the same entitlements to these individuals since they are also 'doing their NS' , despite out of wedlock.

[hihimummy]

GarangMama:

Actually single mothers have it real tough - they don't get the full maternity benefits (4 months leave, cash bonus, childcare subsidies, maid levy, etc etc). That's why there's been a debate in Forum about granting the same entitlements to these individuals since they are also 'doing their NS' , despite out of wedlock.

I agree the subsidy shd be extend to single mothers too... this kind of policy is quite unfair to working single mothers who really need all the help they can get. Single mothers pay taxes too and their children are Singaporeans too.

[tamarind]

I don't think you should be blaming MCYS. Actually MCYS is only following policies set by the government


The government probably thinks that since mommy is not working and staying at home, then she should be taking of the kids at home, right ? Why does she need to put her kids in childcare centres ? Isn't mommy the best person to care for the kids ?

Childcare centres are supposed to be for kids whose mommies are working full time. A childcare centre principal once told me, that I should keep my kids at home, unless I really have no choice.

Of course, the government do not understand that not all mommies are able to take care of 2 or more young children at home single-handedly, and do all the housework, cooking, etc. Remember that most of the MPs and ministers are male, and all those female MPs definitely have maids at home. Then perhaps the solution is to lower the salary of maids and levy, so that non-working mommies can employ maids to help out at home. Better still, provide free maids