Work life balance, childcare issues main factors of declining birthrate

It will take more than monetary payouts to get Singaporeans to marry earlier and make more babies as work life balance, childcare issues and increasing cost of living remain the main reasons behind Singapore's falling birth rate.

To encourage citizens to procreate and revive our nation's declining birth rate, the Marriage and Parenthood package will be soon be reviewed by the government, Deputy Prime Minister Teo Chee Hean announced yesterday.

Mr Teo said this as he urged Singaporeans to work hand in hand to overcome two key challenges that Singapore faces - having a sustainable population and maintaining the country's economic vitality.

However, response remains lukewarm as seen from netizens' comments posted on xinmsn following the announcement.

While they welcome the idea of marriage and having more children, common feedback on issues like childcare subsidies, work life balance to foster better family life and paternity benefits were amongst the many reasons cited.

SarahL18 wrote, "Money and handouts might not be the only solution. There can be other more innovative ways of motivating Singaporeans to gain that much needed work-life balance and encourage family life to flourish."

Another reader, ChinChong wrote, "...take away the cash portion when couples apply for flat so that they can use their cash for wedding, renovation...Lower the COE and transportation cost for parents with [more than] 3 kids... more subsidies for infant/child care...remove maid levy."

Other reasons mentioned include housing cost and even In vitro fertilisation (IVF) subsidies for couples with fertility issues.