Further to this, another measure that the govt could consider is rental rebates for conceiving couples renting HDB flats. More temporary flats will be set aside for couples waiting for their new Housing Board flats under a rental programme which, as National Development Minister Khaw Boon Wan put it, has been “delivering results, and babies”.
Under the rental programme, called the Parenthood Provisional Housing Scheme (PPHS), more than 100 babies were born to those living in 1,000 or so flats – a hit rate of 10 per cent.
– See more at: http://news.asiaone.com/news/singapore/more-flats-parenthood-couples-await-housing#sthash.e3meENpS.dpuf
Better still do things the Hard Truth way: no conceive, rents doubled?.
This appeared in Forum on 17 December
Act on rising cost of raising children in Singapore
I am a parent of three children, two of whom are attending pre-school. It disturbs me that their fees are rising yet again next year – by a significant 20 per cent.
I tried to look for another pre-school that was near my home, and found out that those that had not raised their fees were planning to do so.
It was reported in September that three of five major pre-school chains – which are required to keep fees affordable in return for regular government grants – will increase their prices next year (“3 major pre-school chains raising fees next year”; Sept 27).
This comes after the median monthly fee for full-day childcare rose in a year by $80 – the biggest increment in at least eight years – to reach $830 last year.
The other two pre-school chains are not raising their fees because their current fees have hit the maximum allowed for anchor operators.
What is the Ministry of Social and Family Development doing to stem the fee increases?
More families have parents who are both working and have no choice but to enrol their children in pre-schools. Moreover, a cheaper school may not be an option as there may be no vacancies, or the family may live too far away.
The article (“It costs twice as much to feed your baby today”; Monday) reported that the average price of baby milk has more than doubled in the past decade.
Clearly, the cost of raising children has risen exponentially over the years.
While the Government may be powerless to stop milk powder prices from rising, it should step in where it can exert control, such as childcare costs, especially since it aims to get Singaporeans to have more children.
Ng Keng Nam
And the really Hard Truth way to make sure couples conceive during sex:
Update at 6.40am: Just read in ST that some lovely old flats (in a shady area) in Tiong Bahru have been assigned as “love nests”. The govt should do the same for the flats in the Old Airporty Road area that it’s taking back. Another romantic spot.
Honestly, I don’t think the Gahment is targeting more babies from families who qualify for a HDB rental flat, with a total household gross income of less than $1500. Income gap has widened, social mobility has slowed. More kids in a low income family is likely to add burden to the couple and state. After all, it’s easier to import cheap foreign labour than grow organically. It’s like an almost endless supply from less developed countries.
Similar to the recent speak mandarin campaign, I believe the original intended target group for the baby incentives are the middle-upper class families.
I think you are mistaken about the limit. I think yr ltd is for the poor, not those waiting for BTO flats.