Well, the Singapore government has announced its ‘baby boosting’ incentives for existing parents and parents-to-be (see the Marriage and Parenthood Package for more information).

For our case, the incentives that are going to benefit me are the tax rebates and the six days annual Childcare Leave Days starting next year, so I can’t say it’s all bad.

However, for Cat, what benefits do she get? Almost nothing. Reason: She’s a Stay-At-Home-Mum (SAHM). Well, there is the S$150 rebate for childcare, but it’s not likely to be useful in the near future for us as we have no plans to put Darius there at the moment.

Looking at the new incentives, it’s quite obvious what our government’s message is: ‘To emphasise A LOT on working mums, encouraging them to keep on working while having children, while also getting more mums to re-join the workforce, thus preventing them from ending up as SAHMs.’

Economically, the reason is simple: Singapore is already facing an ageing population and is in need of a bigger workforce to keep our economy competitive (this is a meritocracy society remember?).

So why would the government want to encourage more mothers to leave their workplaces and take care of their children full-time, which will cause problems to our economy and even result in a recession?

If I am the spokesperson for these new incentives, this is probably the message (albeit direct and sacrastic) I will use to address my fellow citizens:

“To maintain our competitive edge, we need the women of Singapore to work harder, while continuing to give birth to more children. Don’t worry, we will provide you with longer, ample rest after your delivery and salary during your rest.”

“After you return to your workplace, there’s no need to worry about the well-being of your children. You can simply hire a domestic helper from our increasing number of maid agencies, or place them in one of our many quality childcare centres, and your children will be well taken care of. Alternatively, you can also use the increased Baby Bonus to convince your parents to be the caregivers.”

“There will only be minimal commitment and disruptions to your career, since all you need to do is fetch your children on your way back from work, or even just on weekends (if taken care by their grandparents). They will miss you a bit, but have no worries, as you will still be spending good ‘quality time’ with your children, despite your already drained-out body and mind from work and OTs. Quantity time with your children is not necessary as rest assured, our childcare centres educators will be even more well-trained to ensure that your children will grow up according to our strict stipulated standards (e.g. very obedient when following higher authorities’ instructions).”

“However, if your children are taken care by domestic helpers, we can only wish you best of luck, though I’m sure incidents of ‘excessively rocking babies’ and ‘over-pressurized maids’ are rare, and thus insignificant for our records.”

“As for those mothers who are still defiant and against the idea of going back to work, wasting their precious supposedly-productive times all day staring at their children and doing nothing (<– Note from author: of course this is not true!), please get back to your workplace asap and do your part in contributing to Singapore’s economy.”

So basically, I’m saddened by the message that the government is trying to send to its citizens, despite understanding the importance of maintaining our competitive economy.

Don’t they know that mothers are still the best caregivers, teachers and role models for their children, and that their roles are irreplaceable? The first six years are the most important years for a child, and yet most of these time would be spent in nurseries or in the hands of domestic helpers?

Ultimately, what’s the point of having children so that they can be brought up by others, and only conveniently picked up according to the parents’ schedules? It’s those priceless and memorable times with our young ones that make parenting such a rewarding job. It’s also those committments and sacrifices that we take which make parenting a task that deserves recognition and admiration.

Unfortunately, this is far from the signal the government has sent out.

Nevertheless, we are still firm with our decision to let Cat take care of Darius full-time at home, and believe strongly that this will be the best for him. We won’t want him to grow up as a self-centred, arrogant child in the hands of a submissive domestic helper, nor pick up bad habits from childcare centres.

The job of a mother is not just to bring her child into this world through nine months of pregnancy, but to guide, love and see him through the rest of his life.

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