Don't wait to have kids, says DPM Teo

Don't wait to have kids, says DPM Teo
He urges young couples not to be too obsessed with seeking a perfect life
By Cassandra Chew

DEPUTY Prime Minister Teo Chee Hean took a rather dim view of perfection last night, when he said young couples should not wait for a perfect life before having children.

Urging them to put up with some messiness, he said: 'I think we are a very perfection-obsessed society, and we forget that in seeking and waiting for perfection for our children, we end up not having any.'

Mr Teo, who is also the Defence Minister, gave this advice to women at a dialogue organised by a women's grassroots group of the People's Association called the Women's Integration Network (WIN) Council.

His comment followed an observation made by a participant about the fears many women have expressed about being a parent.

Ms Sharon Yee, from networking group Financial Women's Association, attributed it to the increasingly high expectations Singaporean women have of themselves.

'I have friends who say, 'I still have five more years before I want to have kids. And if I can't, I can afford IVF (in-vitro fertilisation)',' she said.

The obstacles to women having children as well as the issue of whether Singapore is a good place to spend one's retirement years dominated the two-hour dialogue with DPM Teo.

He was flanked by WIN Council's women advisers, Mrs Lim Hwee Hua, Second Minister for Finance and Transport; and Ms Grace Fu, Senior Minister of State for National Development and Education.

Several of the 83 participants, representing various women's organisations, also placed the blame for Singapore's low fertility rate on employers who were not pro-family.

The fertility rate stands at 1.22, which is below replacement level.

Ms Dana Lam, a Singapore Council of Women's Organisations (SCWO) board member, asked for fathers to be given more parental leave, arguing that Singaporeans needed better work-life balance to have more children.

Mrs Laura Hwang, president of SCWO, noted that many young women today say they are afraid of the stresses of parenthood.

Ms Yee also pointed out that in the finance sector, working from home is practically unheard of, making it difficult for young mothers to return to work.

Responding, Mr Teo said that achieving a better work-life balance will require a mindset change for both employers and employees.

During his stint as education minister, for instance, he said he introduced a part-time employment scheme for teachers, but only 15 out of 20,000 educators took it up.

'Maybe it was ahead of its time, but it could also be the terms and conditions of service and so on.

'But I think in many professions, there certainly is opportunity for this.'

He also assured would-be parents that the Government is doing what it can to make life easier for them.

About 200 more childcare centres will be added across the island, he said.

casschew@sph.com.sg

ON QUEST FOR PERFECTION

'I think we are a very perfection-obsessed society, and we forget that in seeking and waiting for perfection for our children, we end up not having any.'

Deputy Prime Minister Teo Chee Hean
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Truth is, not many companies have "family-friendly" policies
and society's so competitive, inflation keeps going up FASTER than our paycheck
if not sufficient money, how to rear kids?

let's wait and what the Government will do.