THEY are doing it on the beach, in the malls, in the cinemas, and even in schools.

Dating, of course!

It appears that since the Prime Minister talked about it, dating agencies have seen their business go through the roof.

Dating, marriage and procreation - that is the new game in town and all for more babies to boost our population.

There are about 200 dating and matchmaking agencies, and some 30 selected agencies now receive funding to gee up the process.

The PM has suggested that parents get involved in getting their children hitched. Matchmakers are saying they are under pressure to meet higher expectations from singles and their parents.

But parents arranging dates for their children?

As a parent, I can tell you this is not going to work, at least, not in our family.

My two daughters, who are both into dating, are not enamoured of the idea.

As my elder daughter put it, if others got involved, 'where is all that romance that you and mum keep talking about?'

And my younger daughter reminded me of the harrowing arranged-marriage stories that we had heard.

A straw poll of my daughters' friends showed they felt parents don't always know what's best when it comes to arranging dates for their children.

However, Ms Violet Lim, founding director of Lunch Actually, told me: 'I think it depends. It might work for some singles, but not for others.'

And if you sign up because of pressure from parents, 'it usually will not work out', she added.

Frankly, I feel no one should marry just because their mum says they should.

Marrying just to be on the wait-list of a new HDB flat is also not a good enough reason. ('A movie and a bit of dinner will be nice... and er, please don't forget to bring your CPF statement with you'?)

Yes, if you marry for money, you will at least suffer in comfort. But remember, there is still this crazy thing called love.

The writer is a former Singaporean marketing professional.

This article was first published in The New Paper on Oct 9, 2008.