SINGAPORE: Singapore’s fertility rate has fallen to 0.87, and the latest figure has once again set off debate about why fewer couples are choosing to have children.
While many people often point to the rising cost of living, one Singaporean said the real issue is not about money. They feel the bigger problem is the country’s “kiasu” or highly competitive culture.
Sharing their thoughts on the r/askSingapore forum on Friday (Mar 6), the local said that if you look at fertility rates around the world, a clear pattern appears. The richer a country becomes, the lower its total fertility rate tends to be.
They wrote that even in places where people struggle to get by, birth rates can still be high. “Those poor folks in Africa with barely enough food to survive the next day have children like rabbits. Even within each country, the rich tend to have fewer children,” the user said.
“We can throw as much money as we want at this problem, and it won’t go away. Because lack of money has never been the cause for low fertility. In my opinion, the real cause is the competitive nature of the society.”
The user went on to explain that couples who have children in Singapore often feel they are giving up more opportunities compared to those who stay child-free.
“While your DINK (dual income, no kids) friends can work 24-7 to get that promotion, you have to take days off to care for your children when they fall sick. While they can travel to Japan every half a year, just the thought of managing logistics to fly with your baby would scare you away from long-distance travel.”
“While they can save up fast to upgrade to a condo, you’re stuck in your HDB for a bit longer. In short, it is not really the dollar cost per se, but rather the opportunity cost of having kids that deters couples.”
They also said that in a very competitive society, anything that slows a person down in the rat race feels like a major disadvantage.
“In this ultra-competitive society, opportunity costs in the form of penalties to the rat race are big no-nos. Hence, people are less inclined to have kids.”
The user also pointed out that Singapore is not alone in facing this issue. Other East Asian societies with intense work cultures and competitive mindsets are dealing with the same problem.
“East Asian societies… Like Japan, Korea, China, Taiwan, and Hong Kong, all have horrendous total fertility rates. So what can we do about it?” the user wrote.
“It is not like we can make people less competitive. It is ingrained in the mindset. Even in the Parliament, they said being kiasu is a good thing, and that it got us to the prosperity we have today (not wrong).”
“Cost of living is an excuse, not the problem.”
In the comments, many people jumped in to share their own views on why the fertility rate has dropped so sharply.
One user said, “The lack of hope is the main cause, I think. When your generation is proportionally poorer than the previous one, you start to feel that there is no point in bringing the next generation into this world.”
Another commenter felt the issue has less to do with competitiveness or being “kiasu” and more to do with how modern life is structured.
“It is not about being Kiasu. In developed societies, generally both men and women are equally educated and have more career opportunities, so who’s going to be looking after the kids? The truth is that if you want more children, you will need to ‘make’ someone have the incentive to stay home and watch the kids. Guess who that someone is likely to be? The mum.”
A third added, “Freedom to choose is the real cause. As a single, I can take leave to do my own things and travel 2 weeks to another country and OT like mad if I want to chiong for promotion. For a parent, to make the same decision requires sacrifice in terms of time or money on their part.”
Meanwhile, several others chimed in to say they fully agreed with the Reddit post. One user enthusiastically wrote, “I love this post. YES YES YES, it’s not about the money. It’s about not wanting to spend the money on children.”
Another commented, “Cost of living is an excuse, not the problem. People just don’t want kids, be it so they can pursue material wealth, focus on their own interests or just don’t want the extra responsibility. You can dangle all the carrots you want, but if people don’t want children, they will just end up stuck with a maid with largely absent parents. Which isn’t good for anyone.”
In other news, a manager has turned to the internet for advice after a workplace lunch arrangement spiralled into an HR issue, when a Malay employee complained that she felt excluded because her four Chinese colleagues regularly went for meals without her.
Posting on the r/askSingapore Reddit forum, the manager said he had more or less tried everything within reason to deal with the situation.
