FINANCIAL INCENTIVES

• Tax rebates for housewives, not just working mothers.
• Give at least one child free medical benefits from birth to university years.
• Give families with three or more children discounts for public transport, and tickets to public facilities and events.

AT THE WORKPLACE

• More flexi-work options.
• Ensure that employers do not discriminate against women with children.
• Give paid paternity leave.

MAKING BABIES

• Give subsidies to lighten the huge expenses of fertility treatment, especially for the first child.

BRINGING UP BABY

• More affordable infant-care and childcare options.
• Greater recognition given to grandparents for being caregivers.

HOUSING

• Cut the long wait for HDB flats. It may prompt earlier parenthood.
• Let couples rent HDB flats first until they can afford to buy them.
• Have bigger flats available for multi-generational families.

FAMILY VALUES

• Soft-sell the joy of parenthood instead of pushing financial incentives, which send the message that having a baby is largely an issue of dollars and cents.
• Combine talks on academic and family issues in schools to fortify a pro-family attitude in Singapore.
• Work with the mass media to present a realistic view of marriage.

SINGLE MUMS

• Make it easier for single mothers to register their children for school and to raise them wholesomely.

SINGLES

• Better support for older singles. They tend to be saddled with their aged parents by their married siblings, leaving them with little time or money to socialise.

This article was first published in The Straits Times on July 12, 2008.