00:00Sometimes it's hard because if both of you are working,
00:03then who's going to take care of the children, right?
00:05I think marriage is not for having a kid,
00:07but having a good partner in life.
00:10Singapore's birth rate has been declining over the years,
00:13with 2023 being the lowest in the past five decades at 0.97.
00:18To create a more family-friendly environment,
00:20the government has recently announced plans
00:22such as enhancing paid parenthood leave provisions
00:25to up to 30 weeks,
00:26an increase from the previous 20 weeks.
00:29There would also be an upcoming new scheme for large families
00:32to support parents thinking of having a third child,
00:35or those who already have three or more young children.
00:38These are some of the government's efforts
00:40shared by Prime Minister Lawrence Wong to reset policies
00:44to help Singaporeans realise a refreshed Singapore Dream.
00:48We wanted to find out if Singaporeans feel
00:50that there is enough support provided to parents,
00:52as well as other factors that might provide answers
00:54to Singapore's low birth rate.
00:57Asia One recently did a survey
00:58on perceptions on parenthood in Singapore,
01:00which gathered 1,558 responses.
01:04When asked if respondents think
01:05there is enough workplace support for parents,
01:08the majority of the respondents felt that
01:09more can be done for working parents,
01:12or that support for working parents were poor.
01:14About a third of parents indicated that
01:16workplaces claimed to be family-friendly,
01:19but in reality are not.
01:21Working parents were most likely to deem
01:23more flexible work arrangements as helpful
01:25for managing both work and parenting commitments,
01:28even more than having more paid childcare leave days
01:30and more financial assistance.
01:32Singles who were planning to get married
01:34expressed greater concerns regarding support for parents,
01:37compared to respondents with other marital statuses.
01:40These singles were also more likely than other respondents
01:43to find a wide range of support types
01:45to be helpful to parents to manage work and parenting.
01:48Interestingly enough,
01:49parents and non-parents thought differently
01:52about the types of community support
01:53that would be helpful to parents.
01:55Among the options provided,
01:57informal mentorship was more likely to be thought of
01:59as helpful by non-parents,
02:01while having support groups in the workplace
02:03was more likely to be chosen by parents.
02:05To expand on our findings,
02:07we headed out to find out what Singaporeans thought
02:09about the current level of support that parents receive.
02:12No.
02:13Not yet.
02:14No, I'm not.
02:15No, I'm not a parent.
02:17Yes, I am.
02:18Yes, I'm a parent.
02:19No, you're not a parent.
02:21Yes.
02:22No, not yet.
02:23We are foreign.
02:25This one I'm not very sure,
02:27because I have left the workforce for a long time.
02:30But from what I understand is,
02:32some companies, they support,
02:34but most of the companies,
02:36they are not very encouraging in this.
02:38I personally think that
02:41some companies try as much as they can.
02:45They claim to be family-friendly,
02:47but in reality, sometimes it's not that easy.
02:50No, I don't think there is enough.
02:53Yet.
02:53I think there can be more.
02:55No, definitely no.
02:56There's now a new shared leave system.
02:59But I think, if I'm not wrong,
03:00it's only rolled out for people who have kids
03:04after 2025 or 2024.
03:06So, I don't think it's going to be helpful
03:08for parents who have kids now.
03:11I think most of my friends who are parents
03:13would say maybe financial assistance,
03:16more childcare leave,
03:19and maybe flexible arrangements.
03:21Help from the company.
03:22Now, maybe need to rope in the grandparents,
03:26and also the childcare facilities.
03:28That is very important also.
03:30Flexible work time.
03:32Where parents still can work,
03:34also have family time at home.
03:36So that the bond is there as parents.
03:38If there's any working arrangement
03:40that they can do, like work from home,
03:41I think that will really help
03:43because childcare is expensive
03:44if you want to put them in the childcare.
03:46More annual leave
03:48for having a quality time with kids.
03:51More like financial support for parents.
03:54Financial support for parents.
03:55I think more maternity leave.
03:59Balancing work and the cost of living in Singapore
04:03I think is high.
04:04And housing, right, for sure.
04:06These three things are really difficult to manage.
04:09I think uncertainty about how the future will look.
04:13Freedom is also one,
04:14and also financial security.
04:17Whether or not they're able to give the best to their kids.
04:20Expensive, maybe?
04:22And then maybe because of future-wise,
04:24they want to focus more on themselves,
04:26and then not wanting to have a baby
04:28that can actually pull them back.
04:31I ran the calculation last time with my husband.
04:34And then we think like if you're married
04:38and then you want to have kids,
04:39both of the parents have to work
04:41if you want to make a living in Singapore.
04:43And then that sometimes is hard
04:46because if both of you are working,
04:48then who's going to take care of the children, right?
04:49I think it depends on the person.
04:52Maybe the person doesn't like kids
04:54and wants to live alone.
04:55I think it's okay
04:56because I think marriage is not for having a kid,
04:59but having a good partner in life.
05:02It's too expensive to raise a child.
05:04I mean, it's already expensive to get a house.
05:07It's already difficult to get a house.
05:10And then houses are too small
05:11to have more than two children.
05:13The cost of living is shooting up.
05:17I don't think it's going to decline anytime soon.
05:20So I think that's the number one factor.
05:22Of the people we interviewed,
05:23an equal number of respondents said that they agree,
05:26but more can be done.
05:27Workplaces claim to be supportive, but are not.
05:30And no, there is not enough workplace support for parents.
05:33When asked about what would help parents
05:35better manage both work and parenting commitments,
05:38the top two responses were
05:40having more parental leave,
05:41as well as having some form of flexible working arrangement.
05:45Six in 10 respondents said that
05:46the cost of living in Singapore
05:48was probably the biggest reservation
05:50that Singaporeans would have about becoming parents.
05:53So, what do you think?
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