Government, what you really want us to do?

[Oppsgal]

nightlone:

Melodies:

Wow! Just 3 days, we already on 25 page. You SAHMs/SAHMen, FTWMs/FTWMen can really discuss a lot! How come FTWMen do not need to work one huh and still can come here to TCSS for the whole day :? I guess if you could do that, you can manage your family very well. Lucky you! Not everyone like you can still come here to TCSS for whole day while you are working. Not sure if you have any extra helps or bo (be it having SAHW, old folks or helpers or CC) when your children are young.

Government has nothing to do with the low fertility rate meh? I find it hard to believe that people are totally not aware of all those facts such as:
+ Who urged Singaporean to just deliver 2 at most more than 3 decades ago and imposed fine and gave low priority to the 3rd and beyond children?
+ Who come to realize about 1 decade ago but unfortunately rather too late that we need to have more babies than just 2. Too bad! the damage have been done and we got hit and facing now?
+ Did you ever wonder why the fertility rate is higher during our parents' era when most of the mothers were staying at home. My mother told me that those working women were also having lesser children during her time. What does it tell you? Many factors causing that.. too much stresses, lesser time, no supports etc.
+ I think the Government policies did have significant impacts on whether woman chose to work and not to have more babies or whether woman chose not to work but have more babes. With higher and higher property prices and living expenses now, I guess women get stucked with no choice soon.
+ In order to counteract low fertility rate, government relaxed the immigration policy and allowed more FT to work in Singapore..There will have another set of problems altogether later on..but Government is still not actively looking for solution for it..
+ Low fertility rate also results in high aging population, then another policy to counteract the problem..n so on..n so forth. all these create a vicious circle. If you don't try to recognize the root cause of the problem.. These cycles will continue in the direction of this momentum until .... :yikes:

I think the government does play a part in contributing to the fertility rate. This society is so competitive. Everything is so expensive and prices continue to rise. Ok, so you think, i only spend on essentials but essentials are also expensive and there's no help from anywhere, other than you work yourself to the bone (and sometimes that doesn't help still).
We've been told again and again to study hard so that next time can find good job and good money. No one ever said to find a good family. it's always pay or job or career. Then you think about buying a house, but, omg, it's so expensive, so you continue to work. Then with utilities and conservancy increasing all the time, it gets like really tiring.
Then you think about kids. day care, sick days, tuition, time to spend with them, school books etc. All these things need money and it's not cheap getting these in Sg.
Then I remember my mum wanting to pass down my primary school stuff to my brother (we're 4 years apart) but the syllabus was always changing so always have to buy new ones. Everytime it's $100+ just for the textbooks. Want to use second-hand also no chance. The govt change syllabus right?
Medical is also expensive. Either you wait for the whole morning at the polyclinic or you pay for the private doctor. So better not get sick.
It's like one long struggle.

I have already started to tell my kid, at toddler age, that next time when working, must help to support me (SAHM) as now at home help to look after kid. Tell my kid must take turn.

Kind of worry about I reach old age.

[nightlone]

Oppsgal:

I have already started to tell my kid, at toddler age, that next time when working, must help to support me (SAHM) as now at home help to look after kid. Tell my kid must take turn.

Kind of worry about I reach old age.

haha i was telling my hubs that next time if my kid doesn't come and borrow money from me, i will be very contented :xedfingers: , let alone ask him to support me.

[Melodies]

I tell myself not to be a burden to my dc and have to be financially independent.

[Melodies]

Having said that I do agree that mindset of people and the choice of lifestyle do play a part in the low fertility rate.

[iggy]

Agree with nightlone. The best "headstart" we can give our kids is to be financially independent ourselves. Hopefully the kid will learn from us and be self sufficient. But( always a but) its easier said than done with escalating house prices…

[Dora1]

pirate:

3Boys:

Your turn pirate.

(1a) Working mothers' child relief - up to $50,000 per child, with the stated purpose of \"encouraging married women to remain in the workforce after having children\" (as per IRAS website).

(1b) I see a lot of navel gazing about how to make childcare affordable etc., but nothing in relation to the burden of families with a SAHM.

(2) Affordability of HDB BTO is measured with reference to household income. The average household income from work at the 41st-50th percentile in Singapore in 2011 is $7,032 per month. The median gross monthly income (excluding employer's CPF) from work for full-time employed resident (ie. SCs and PRs) is $2,925. For males in the 25-29 age group with secondary, post-secondary (non-tertiary) education, diploma & professional qualification and degree education, the corresponding number is $1,800, $1,950, $2,500 and $3,612 respectively. In MND's blog titled \"Are HDB flats affordable?\" on 12/11/10, the then Minister referenced affordability to BTO flats (with a 30 year mortgage after housing grants) using the following monthly household income yardstick, 2-room $1,400, 3-room $2,300, 4-room $4,200. Do your own maths whether MND is talking about a single or double income household.

More than half of single income graduate households are expected to have an instalment to income ratio of more than 27% if they aspire to anything more than a 3-room BTO (ie. 2 bedrooms) in a non-mature estate.

Incidentally, this doesn't affect me. I am not looking to buy a BTO.

:goodpost: I totally agree, esp the last point on the BTO flats. Most of my younger family members are putting off marriage and kids because of the insane flat prices and not being able to ballot successfully. Even those who eventually manage to ballot are waiting 3 years, by which time they are all 30+ already. Likelihood of more children greatly reduced.

[BabyRR]

I am slightly surprised to see that so far in this debate regarding TFR, there’s been no mention about the domestic helper situation.

I feel that unless one has fantastic family support network ie. grandparents helping out with kids, a reliable domestic helper is immensely helpful especially when you are talking about a dual income family with very young kids. ie< 2years. And I feel the current luck of draw system in selection of domestic helper, as well as the limited supply of good helpers is a big impediment to couples who may otherwise have considered more than 1 or 2 kids.

[Oppsgal]

BabyRR:

I am slightly surprised to see that so far in this debate regarding TFR, there's been no mention about the domestic helper situation.

I feel that unless one has fantastic family support network ie. grandparents helping out with kids, a reliable domestic helper is immensely helpful especially when you are talking about a dual income family with very young kids. ie< 2years. And I feel the current luck of draw system in selection of domestic helper, as well as the limited supply of good helpers is a big impediment to couples who may otherwise have considered more than 1 or 2 kids.

I don't dare to depend on maids to look after my kid.

[nightlone]

Oppsgal:

BabyRR:

I am slightly surprised to see that so far in this debate regarding TFR, there's been no mention about the domestic helper situation.

I feel that unless one has fantastic family support network ie. grandparents helping out with kids, a reliable domestic helper is immensely helpful especially when you are talking about a dual income family with very young kids. ie< 2years. And I feel the current luck of draw system in selection of domestic helper, as well as the limited supply of good helpers is a big impediment to couples who may otherwise have considered more than 1 or 2 kids.

I don't dare to depend on maids to look after my kid.

yah i also don't dare. Even when I was a single mum, I rather put him in day care than hire a maid.
Some maids very terok one. I'm not going to risk finding out with my kid.
My friend's maid left the baby in the sarong and went downstairs somewhere. Then forget to take key. So she became scared lah, called the locksmith, then my friend realised she always left the baby alone in the house.

[sunset_dae]

maids have broke my trust in them, I will never rely on them to take care of my kids.

I rather leave my child with a baby sitter than maid.

nightlone:

Oppsgal:

[quote=\"BabyRR\"]I am slightly surprised to see that so far in this debate regarding TFR, there's been no mention about the domestic helper situation.
I feel that unless one has fantastic family support network ie. grandparents helping out with kids, a reliable domestic helper is immensely helpful especially when you are talking about a dual income family with very young kids. ie< 2years. And I feel the current luck of draw system in selection of domestic helper, as well as the limited supply of good helpers is a big impediment to couples who may otherwise have considered more than 1 or 2 kids.

I don't dare to depend on maids to look after my kid.

yah i also don't dare. Even when I was a single mum, I rather put him in day care than hire a maid.
Some maids very terok one. I'm not going to risk finding out with my kid.
My friend's maid left the baby in the sarong and went downstairs somewhere. Then forget to take key. So she became scared lah, called the locksmith, then my friend realised she always left the baby alone in the house.[/quote]