SINGAPORE: Singapore’s low birth rate has long been a cause of alarm, to the point that earlier this year, Deputy Prime Minister Gan Kim Yong said that with the citizen population growing by only 0.7 last year, it’s possible that by the early 2040s, it will begin to shrink.
A 2024 study conducted by Nanyang Technological University and Research Network showed that money concerns are the top barrier to having children for young people. However, for a local Reddit user who recently put forward their take on the issue, the low birth rate in Singapore is due to the belief that “you need to give children a perfect life.”
In their March 15 post, u/Zeromizer22 cited Israel as an example of a developed economy without a lot of space, but where the fertility rate is around 2.9 children per woman, well above the replacement level of 2.1.
“The biggest barrier to having kids in Singapore isn’t money, it’s the belief that you need to give them a perfect life. That belief is wrong and partly self-serving. Kids grow stronger through shared struggle, not through growing in the best environment. Change that thinking, and more parents might consider having kids,” the post author wrote.
They added that they believe Singaporeans feel judged when they don’t give their children the best in life, and if they are unable to do so, they choose not to have kids.
The post author also wrote that if more Singaporeans would change this mindset and embrace the view that challenging times are actually good for them, more people may be willing to have children.
Commenters on the post acknowledged that u/Zeromizer22 may have a point, but added that there are several other key factors to consider, including the long working hours Singaporean parents have, as well as the fact that the “village” or support system for raising children has shrunk.
Nevertheless, a number of Reddit users underlined how expensive it is to raise a family.
As one wrote tersely, “Tuitions upon tuitions.”
Indeed, over the past years, the cost of living has been a top concern for would-be parents. In 2021, 69 per cent of respondents in a survey conducted by TODAY Online said it was their top worry, followed by the stressful educational system (48 per cent) and the limited amount of time available to spend time with their children (41 per cent).
In 2023, Wen Wei Tan, an analyst at the Economist Intelligence Unit, told CNBC that “throwing money” at the problem of low fertility will not solve it.
“Tackling the fertility rate will require us to confront some of the weaknesses of the underlying systems … Which means not only addressing demographic challenges, but also helping to build social cohesion, and perhaps look at how we can foster healthier attitudes towards risk-taking,” he said. /TISG
