Yahoo! Singapore Answers blog

Children… the joy and headache of all parents out there. Yes, even to our own parents The Singapore government is back again with declarations of “new package of measures” to (hopefully) increase the number of babies born to Singaporeans by next month. When will they ever get the message that some things can’t be forced? Who in their right mind would want to give birth to children just because the government will give them a certain sum of money per child? Is this some sort of human barter?

Y! Singapore Editors has once again asked the Singaporean community what their concerns were with regards to getting married and having a family in Singapore. While the question is still open for people to comment, I heartily agree with some of the users when they stress that the reason to have children should be based on whether you genuinely love and would like to have children. As thinkbig & talkbig says, “Why create another human just because someone pays you to do so?”; langzi88 muses “Alas, if it [equating a child to being an asset] has to come to that, life has no meaning anymore.”; and Friendly neighbor reminds us that “Having kids should be a personal love and desire for them, not one made because the government is giving out incentives.”

All these I fully agree, while high cost of living is a big factor for many in the community, let’s not forget the fundamental reason why we want children: because we love them unconditionally.

My cheeky but lovable nephew and niece.