A common misconception is that Singapore’s marriage and parenthood initiatives have failed because total fertility rates keep declining, but that may not be true, says NUS’ Kelvin Seah.
Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Lawrence Wong said this was toAs a parent of a 4-year-old, I welcomed these announcements even though they will not affect me. Because they signal the Government’s commitment to supporting Singaporeans in their parenthood journey, even as attitudes and financial costs change.
Would the enhanced measures encourage my wife and I to have a second child? Honestly, I do not think so.to have more children, with one mother calling the financial support useful but “a small dent” in the cost of raising children.'Every cent helps': More parental support welcome, but couples say it won't push them to have more childrenWhether policies are effective or not depends on what the intentions of the policy are.
Suppose the policies do indeed increase fertility, they still need to be evaluated to see if they are worth pursuing because they do come with costs. These findings, however, were based on data sourced from other countries. But the effectiveness of pronatalist policies is likely to differ by country, depending on the societal and economic environment. It might be worth doing such a study in Singapore to get a better understanding of how effective our policies have been so far.
What matters more is whether there will be someone who can take care of our child when we work, whether we will have supportive employers who will not fault us if we need time off to attend to a sick child, whether there will be sufficient liveable space at home to accommodate another child, or if we will have the means to support them till they are financially independent.
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