PM Lee encourages S’poreans to have more ‘Dragon babies’ this year
Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong has expressed his “fervent” hope for Singaporeans to have more “Dragon babies” this year.
In his Chinese New Year message on Saturday before the start of the Year of the Dragon on the Chinese calendar, the PM announced that Singapore’s Total Fertility Rate (TFR) “picked up slightly” last year to 1.20, up from 1.15 in 2010.
(Read full text of PM Lee’s CNY message)
"Singapore's Total Fertility Rate has been steadily dropping from 1.60 in 2000 to 1.20 in 2011, despite many government measures to encourage couples to have more children,” Lee said.
“This is especially true for Chinese Singaporeans, whose TFR has dropped from 1.43 to 1.08 over the same period. Singapore's TFR picked up slightly in 2011… but I do not think we have reversed the long-term downward trend,” he continued.
Historically, he said more babies are born in a Dragon Year as some Chinese families prefer to have “Dragon” children, believing them to be smarter, more successful or lucky.
“I fervently hope that this year will be a big Dragon year for babies,” he said.
“But we should go beyond the Chinese zodiac and traditional beliefs, and look at more fundamental factors to encourage Singaporeans to have more children. This is critical to preserve a Singapore core in our society. We do not want to rely more and more heavily on immigration, nor do we want to see our population shrinking year by year,” he added.
Recognising that having children is a “personal decision for families to make”, Lee assured couples that the government will do its part to “reduce the anxieties and burdens of parenthood.”
The PM also touched on measures such as the Baby Bonus, maternity and childcare leave, encouraging flexible work arrangements, making childcare more affordable, and a prompt supply of HDB flats. Young couples will also get priority when buying their first home.
But Lee also acknowledged that “the critical factor now is not more financial incentives but creating the supportive social climate and attitudes that will encourage couples to have more children”.
“Parents want the peace of mind that their children will grow up in a safe and stable environment… (in) a better Singapore than the one they themselves knew,” said the PM.
Singaporeans Yahoo! spoke to welcomed the government’s child support measures but said it was still not an easy decision to make.
29-year-old engineer Tay Kim Seng revealed his plans to have his first child next year as he predicts there will be “too many people this (Dragon) year”.
Tay admitted that he and his wife, who married last year, are already worrying about “their (child’s) education… whether we (they) can cope, both emotionally and financially.”
Civil servant Kelly Ang, 24, told Yahoo! that she has no plans to have babies anytime soon.
“I want to further my education by doing my masters first, and advance my career as well,” explained Ang, who also married last year. “I might see myself having kids in the next four or five years."
“When I have a child, I want to be a 'full-time' parent… to devote time to bringing up my future child properly,” she added.
