Sep 06 2008
Maybe baby?
Hello!
This is the first entry I’m putting up on this site and I hope my random ramblings provide you with some form of entertainment, or at least that they help you pass the time!
I thought I would make my first entry about something that has made a few headlines of late: making babies, or rather why we’re not making enough of them.
This year’s National Day Rally touched on the issue of us Singaporeans’ inability to replace ourselves, and also detailed the Government’s plan of financial incentives to encourage more people to get married and start procreating.
I had the opportunity to take part in a couple of forums organised by MediaCorp to discuss this issue and one of the things that surfaced was the idea that perhaps more is needed to be done to change some underlying cultural and social norms that are behind our dwindling birth rates.
I don’t think anyone will disagree with the fact that people these days are just busier than they were, say, 50 years ago. Life is much more hectic, the pressures to excel, succeed, work hard, be the best…make it much harder for people to find time for things like romance, dating, and subsequently marriage and babies.
I personally think that people just need a bit more time, a bit more space, a bit more energy for the finer things in life…to develop, to grow, to get to know themselves as well as people around them.
But by dangling financial incentives for babies, we seem to be reinforcing the idea that money is king and women are almost like jackpot machines - pull the handle and if a baby pops out, you win the prize!
I’m sure that the incentives will be a big help for some families, but something else needs to be done to address the wider issue of our lifestyles.
I’m not sure I know what that thing is…maybe more should be done to showcase the positives of having a family, being a parent, and what this represents.
One thing I do know is, if I wasn’t as tied up in my work and career, I’d probably have started working on replacing myself a lot sooner!