PM Lee: What future do you want for Singapore?

[Daddy D]

Interesting poll during the conversation with PM Lee... Where about 1/2 agrees that single women should have children.


Guess we all have to relook at our society...
- where man is not the only breadwinner
- where man is the SAHD
- where a family unit is not limited to a husband and wife with kid(s)
- where parenting is not limited to parents (e.g. Caregivers, maid, CCC, etc)
- where MOE government schools are not the only education route (those parents who can homeschool or afford a suite of enrichment programs, should be allowed to do so, with no strings attached by MOE)

Rather than imposing \"one size fits all\" policies...
:?

[Melodies]

:yikes: sooner or later, we are going to be like westerner! Asian value will be all gone!!

Daddy

Interesting poll during the conversation with PM Lee... Where about 1/2 agrees that single women should have children.

Guess we all have to relook at our society...
- where man is not the only breadwinner
- where man is the SAHD
- where a family unit is not limited to a husband and wife with kid(s)
- where parenting is not limited to parents (e.g. Caregivers, maid, CCC, etc)
- where MOE government schools are not the only education route (those parents who can homeschool or afford a suite of enrichment programs, should be allowed to do so, with no strings attached by MOE)

Rather than imposing \"one size fits all\" policies...
:?

[pirate]

I only have one DD. Not only do I think single women should be able to have children, I am all for the children taking the mother's surname. See? I can be very traditional Asian too. :imcool:

[Daddy D]

I worry for our SG DS(s)... How to have their own children?

:faint:

[Lilac66]

Melodies:

:yikes: sooner or later, we are going to be like westerner! Asian value will be all gone!!

Daddy

Interesting poll during the conversation with PM Lee... Where about 1/2 agrees that single women should have children.

Guess we all have to relook at our society...
- where man is not the only breadwinner
- where man is the SAHD
- where a family unit is not limited to a husband and wife with kid(s)
- where parenting is not limited to parents (e.g. Caregivers, maid, CCC, etc)
- where MOE government schools are not the only education route (those parents who can homeschool or afford a suite of enrichment programs, should be allowed to do so, with no strings attached by MOE)

Rather than imposing \"one size fits all\" policies...
:?

It's kinda shocking also when I watched the poll, I was dead sure (betting with DH) that most will be against the idea. But turned out otherwise.

[corneyAmber]

Are people confused when they take this poll? Single women having children and single mom having children are 2 different things. I have friends who are single moms and they became so because something failed in the relationship and ended as such. For a long time, such single moms would lament to me their difficulties here because there have been little benefits that single moms can qualify. So there have been people and organisations trying to champion policy changes for single moms. So are the people taking the poll confused?


If a woman cannot find her other half and decide to have a child and this is encouraged, it will tip the balance in the society. I feel a woman should be encouraged to find her love and raise the family with a loved one. After birth support from a husband is important and I hope the single women realise that. Having a child is not to fulfill an individual’s desire for wanting a child, it would be a selfish dream.

Lucky PM Lee diplomatically assured that Singapore will still support the traditional view of a family. Phew…

[Lilac66]

ksi:

Lucky PM Lee diplomatically assured that Singapore will still support the traditional view of a family. Phew....

[corneyAmber]

Lilac66:

ksi:

Lucky PM Lee diplomatically assured that Singapore will still support the traditional view of a family. Phew....

Sorry cher that the confused people make you sweat. After I read this version of the report, I am more convinced that the people have mixed up single women and single moms. Actually now I am a bit concerned about the people representing our concerns in the dialogue sessions... Also, people who advocate this, do they realise that they are advocating EMAs at the same time? Single women may not seek out only men who do not want to marry them, their search ground can also be men who CANNOT marry them.... :faint:

here is the report:


Traditional family still key: PM Lee

PM understands views of single parenthood advocates, but says pro-marriage policies have worked for Singapore
by Neo Chai Chin
04:45 AM Sep 15, 2012


SINGAPORE - The traditional family model of married parents having children has worked well for Singapore and should remain the basis of the country's population policy, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said yesterday.

He acknowledged that some families \"operate in a different way\", but stressed that \"we should stick to encouraging traditional families\".

The Prime Minister said this during a Channel NewsAsia forum conducted with Education Minister Heng Swee Keat, Members of Parliament Indranee Rajah and Intan Azura Mokhtar, and 50 Singaporeans from different walks of life.

The topic of children came up after several participants suggested that the Government consider looking more favourably at unmarried couples and singles who want to have children by tweaking policies that currently favour married couples.

Fashion designer Jo Soh, 36, who lives with her boyfriend and is open to the idea of having children, spoke up for \"diversity to allow for different lifestyles (in) which you can bring up children.\"

She said her friends in their 30s and 40s felt the same level of subsidies does not apply to married couples who are not both working, unmarried couples or to singles who wanted to be parents. Women who stop working after giving birth, for example, receive less childcare subsidies. \"We find that current policies seem to penalise anyone who isn't ... a married working couple,\" added Ms Soh.

Agreeing, single mother Adora Doganis said she faced difficulty getting a place of her own. The 25-year-old, who is a mother of one, said she wants to have more children but does not intend to marry.

Mr Lee replied that National Development Minister Khaw Boon Wan is now studying the issue of Housing and Development Board flats for singles.

In a poll of the 50 participants held during the dialogue, 46 per cent answered \"yes\" to the question, \"should non-married couples have children\".

Mr Lee expressed surprise at the result, but said he understood both points of view. However, he added: \"In Singapore, the norm has been you get married first and you have children afterwards. You may or may not stay married and you may be divorced, something happens - but try and have a husband and wife take care of their kid.

\"And I think there have been some significant advantages to our society to aim for that norm, because a kid brought up by a single mother or single father, I think, is at a disadvantage in many ways - resources, guidance, stability of background.\"

Using Scandinavia as a counterpoint, Mr Lee said although birth rates are higher there than in Singapore, many babies are born outside of marriage. It works for the society there, but many Singaporeans would disagree, he said.

The Prime Minister added that Singapore society is changing and norms will evolve. \"We can't prevent it from changing but we also don't want it to just go wherever the latest fashion is.\"

Ms Indranee, who will become Senior Minister of State (Law and Education) from Nov 1, said the Government's intention is not to penalise unmarried people but to \"help those who got married and therefore are looking at additional expenses\".

\"It's not meant to be a penalty but, at the same time, because Singapore is evolving we can examine and see how it's going and what we can do as we move as a society,\" she said.

Other participants had suggestions to boost the fertility rate: Mr Stephen Yee, an Assistant Director at the Singapore National Employers Federation, felt the Government could facilitate the adoption of children by couples who have tried but failed to conceive.

Psychology Professor David Chan of the Singapore Management University suggested that even as the Government waits for attitudes towards having children to change, it could improve national well-being and family time. For instance, rooftop gardens could provide jobs close to people's homes, provide flexible hours and promote community bonding among neighbours.

Lasting 90 minutes, the session titled \"A Conversation with PM Lee\" covered the country's future and values, its fertility rate and pre-school education.

Source: todayonline

[Lilac66]

ksi:

Lilac66:

[quote=\"ksi\"]
Lucky PM Lee diplomatically assured that Singapore will still support the traditional view of a family. Phew....

Sorry cher that the confused people make you sweat. After I read this version of the report, I am more convinced that the people have mixed up single women and single moms. Actually now I am a bit concerned about the people representing our concerns in the dialogue sessions... Also, people who advocate this, do they realise that they are advocating EMAs at the same time? Single women may not seek out only men who do not want to marry them, their search ground can also be men who CANNOT marry them.... :faint:

here is the report:


Traditional family still key: PM Lee

PM understands views of single parenthood advocates, but says pro-marriage policies have worked for Singapore
by Neo Chai Chin
04:45 AM Sep 15, 2012


SINGAPORE - The traditional family model of married parents having children has worked well for Singapore and should remain the basis of the country's population policy, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said yesterday.

He acknowledged that some families \"operate in a different way\", but stressed that \"we should stick to encouraging traditional families\".

The Prime Minister said this during a Channel NewsAsia forum conducted with Education Minister Heng Swee Keat, Members of Parliament Indranee Rajah and Intan Azura Mokhtar, and 50 Singaporeans from different walks of life.

The topic of children came up after several participants suggested that the Government consider looking more favourably at unmarried couples and singles who want to have children by tweaking policies that currently favour married couples.

Fashion designer Jo Soh, 36, who lives with her boyfriend and is open to the idea of having children, spoke up for \"diversity to allow for different lifestyles (in) which you can bring up children.\"

She said her friends in their 30s and 40s felt the same level of subsidies does not apply to married couples who are not both working, unmarried couples or to singles who wanted to be parents. Women who stop working after giving birth, for example, receive less childcare subsidies. \"We find that current policies seem to penalise anyone who isn't ... a married working couple,\" added Ms Soh.

Agreeing, single mother Adora Doganis said she faced difficulty getting a place of her own. The 25-year-old, who is a mother of one, said she wants to have more children but does not intend to marry.

Mr Lee replied that National Development Minister Khaw Boon Wan is now studying the issue of Housing and Development Board flats for singles.

In a poll of the 50 participants held during the dialogue, 46 per cent answered \"yes\" to the question, \"should non-married couples have children\".

Mr Lee expressed surprise at the result, but said he understood both points of view. However, he added: \"In Singapore, the norm has been you get married first and you have children afterwards. You may or may not stay married and you may be divorced, something happens - but try and have a husband and wife take care of their kid.

\"And I think there have been some significant advantages to our society to aim for that norm, because a kid brought up by a single mother or single father, I think, is at a disadvantage in many ways - resources, guidance, stability of background.\"

Using Scandinavia as a counterpoint, Mr Lee said although birth rates are higher there than in Singapore, many babies are born outside of marriage. It works for the society there, but many Singaporeans would disagree, he said.

The Prime Minister added that Singapore society is changing and norms will evolve. \"We can't prevent it from changing but we also don't want it to just go wherever the latest fashion is.\"

Ms Indranee, who will become Senior Minister of State (Law and Education) from Nov 1, said the Government's intention is not to penalise unmarried people but to \"help those who got married and therefore are looking at additional expenses\".

\"It's not meant to be a penalty but, at the same time, because Singapore is evolving we can examine and see how it's going and what we can do as we move as a society,\" she said.

Other participants had suggestions to boost the fertility rate: Mr Stephen Yee, an Assistant Director at the Singapore National Employers Federation, felt the Government could facilitate the adoption of children by couples who have tried but failed to conceive.

Psychology Professor David Chan of the Singapore Management University suggested that even as the Government waits for attitudes towards having children to change, it could improve national well-being and family time. For instance, rooftop gardens could provide jobs close to people's homes, provide flexible hours and promote community bonding among neighbours.

Lasting 90 minutes, the session titled \"A Conversation with PM Lee\" covered the country's future and values, its fertility rate and pre-school education.

Source: todayonline[/quote]
tio you know...After chewing over what you said, I think it's a real possibility as there won't be much stigma attached to single women (not moms) having children. I also mentioned to DH I'm surprised by the poll result and that it could be due to the profile of people attending the dialogue. Another lady also advocated alternative lifestyle...if I recall correctly.

[corneyAmber]

Aiyo...how come another post deleted while I am posting to agree? :slapshead: