PM Lee urges more babies in Year of Rabbit

[janet88]

verykiasu2010:

tankee:

i think the maid levy is to level the playing field for our locals domestic helpers.

local domestic helpers will still cost much much more than levy + salary + cpf......

i thought it is a stated objective of MOM to reduce dependency on maid via the levy ?

if the family has children less than 12 y/o, the levy is at concessionary rate. the moment the child reaches 12 y/o, IMMEDIATELY the concession is removed

If Singapore education system or should I say P1 registration/education system is made more stringent, birth rates will plunge even lower. Parents have to work harder to pay for tuition fees and maid services. Then why give birth in the first place ?

[3Boys]

As someone said in the ST forum today, have children NOT because the g’ment wants us to, but because we want to have them.


To enrich our lives. To be a blessing to God and society.

The whole discussion about P1 registration and maids and so forth as predicates to child-bearing just really sounds so calculative…

My children are the joy in my life, none of the above matter one whit to me. If they have to go to the lowest ranked P school in Singapore, or I have to handwash their clothes myself at 1am in the morning, I would still do it.

[3Boys]

So, what are the young children in this forum reading this thread thinking?


"Oh, the parents here only really have kids because they have a maid at home to look after us and they can afford to move to within 2km of a top P-school for us to get into."

"The love of kids and desire to start a family is only really a secondary consideration. The bean-counting starts first."

Kids, your parents love you and really do want to have you (despite what you read here), sometimes if its only really after the fact. The moaning and griping here is what Singaporeans do in general (complain), so don’t be too put off by it.

[janet88]

3Boys:

As someone said in the ST forum today, have children NOT because the g'ment wants us to, but because we want to have them.


To enrich our lives. To be a blessing to God and society.

The whole discussion about P1 registration and maids and so forth as predicates to child-bearing just really sounds so calculative.....

My children are the joy in my life, none of the above matter one whit to me. If they have to go to the lowest ranked P school in Singapore, or I have to handwash their clothes myself at 1am in the morning, I would still do it.

Of course I have kids because I want to...not bcos the govt asked me to. If I do not want kids, no amount of persuasion from the govt will succeed.
They bring joy and fill the house with noise. Everything I'm doing is for them.

[MMM]

janet_lee88:

If Singapore education system or should I say P1 registration/education system is made more stringent, birth rates will plunge even lower. Parents have to work harder to pay for tuition fees and maid services. Then why give birth in the first place ?

Just wondering if one would take p1 registration into consideration if they should have kids. My impression is that some parents are not originally kiasu. But along the way, they become kiasu due to the pressure from the society

But if P1 registration is also a contributor to low birth rate then that is scary :!:

[janet88]

MMM:

janet_lee88:

If Singapore education system or should I say P1 registration/education system is made more stringent, birth rates will plunge even lower. Parents have to work harder to pay for tuition fees and maid services. Then why give birth in the first place ?

Just wondering if one would take p1 registration into consideration if they should have kids. My impression is that some parents are not originally kiasu. But along the way, they become kiasu due to the pressure from the society

But if P1 registration is also a contributor to low birth rate then that is scary :!:

Parents queue up for places in popular kindergartens. Primary school education scares newly married couples. What is the reason(s) stopping couples to start a family or have more kids ?

[hquek]

MMM:

Just wondering if one would take p1 registration into consideration if they should have kids. My impression is that some parents are not originally kiasu. But along the way, they become kiasu due to the pressure from the society

But if P1 registration is also a contributor to low birth rate then that is scary :!:

Don't think pp think so far ahead. I would think that it's more to do with couples who prefer to spend time and money on themselves (and their pets) that contribute to the low birth rate. In fact, around me are 'clueless' parents who have no idea about P1 registration until their kids are maybe 4?

For me personally, it was difficulty in locating an OK kindy that got me down the slippery path of ks-ism. No regrets - at least I now know what's coming up.

[3Boys]

janet_lee88:

Of course I have kids because I want to...not bcos the govt asked me to. If I do not want kids, no amount of persuasion from the govt will succeed.
They bring joy and fill the house with noise. Everything I'm doing is for them.

I believe most couples feel the same way. However, every time the issue of birth rate comes around, its seems there is always this huge chorus of \"give me more help with childcare/maids/financials/P-school, or else.....\"

[janet88]

3Boys:

janet_lee88:

Of course I have kids because I want to...not bcos the govt asked me to. If I do not want kids, no amount of persuasion from the govt will succeed.
They bring joy and fill the house with noise. Everything I'm doing is for them.

I believe most couples feel the same way. However, every time the issue of birth rate comes around, its seems there is always this huge chorus of \"give me more help with childcare/maids/financials/P-school, or else.....\"

With 3rd & 4th child, govt gives $6000. Hubby & I are determined to stop at 2 and no amount of money from the govt can entice us to have #3...not that we are loaded but our hands are full as it is.

[tamarind]

janet_lee88:

Of course I have kids because I want to...not bcos the govt asked me to. If I do not want kids, no amount of persuasion from the govt will succeed.
They bring joy and fill the house with noise. Everything I'm doing is for them.

I want to have kids for precisely the same reasons as well.

However, having kids also means that we must provide the best environment for them to grow up in.

Honestly, if I have to send my kids to infant care/childcare etc, I would rather not have any kids. I do not like my kids to be raised by strangers. This is my personal opinion only, I do not mean to offend other mommies who have no choice but to send babies to infant care, I have total respect for them.

To me, the best arrangement is to have my mother raise my kids, and to employ a maid to help her. I want my kids to grow up at home, not in a center. I have seen many kids being carried in their sleep very early in the morning to childcare centers, and I am happy that I don't have to do that to my kids. I don't want my kids to have a childhood being fetched from one place to another everyday.

Thanks to my maid and my mother, I am able to spend quality time teaching my kids, and both of them are doing very well in both languages, which is very important to me. Raising kids does not only mean feeding and cleaning them, it is much more important that parents have the time to teach them.

Every mommy has a different opinion of how kids should be raised, and how to manage their own families. No one has the right to make any comments, or try to impose their own standards on others.

(P.S. Janet, the last sentence is meant for some other parents, not for you.)