Nope, Daddy is not going to talk about the act itself, as we are a family blog :p
Rather, the lack of babies and and how pro-family policies can be enhanced.
Money is always important (钱不是万能，..fill in the blank..不能), for childcare, medical, enrichment, education, food and other living costs. However, Daddy suspects that having a baby has become a “Lifestyle” choice.
A couple can travel anywhere, indulge in luxurious comfort but somehow along the way, having a baby becomes a liability. Career advancement will be affected, lifestyle will be curtailed, nobody likes to Sacrifice !
Naively, Daddy still choose to believe that “if a family is Happy“, more babies will come naturally. If we have to lower our lifestyle expectations, so be it.
In Singapore’s lack-of-babies context (or most urban cities), “Happy” is not a feeling, but the “assurance” that we have less things to worry about, when we decide to Ignore Durex have a baby.
“We wish to have a child, because we love to start a family.”. The last reason should be “I want a baby because of Incentive #A, or Bonus #B!”
Daddy’s wishlist are “More flexi-hours, pro-rate childcare leave aka the more kids the merrier, and paternity leaves”. It is way overdue for the Man to standup and be recognized as an equal partner, when it comes to parenting.
Ok, Men cannot breastfeed, but a strong Mummy and Daddy team will likely yield a stronger family.
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26Aug 10PM National Day Rally– our Prime Minister Lee gave us a peep into which policies will be tweaked so that (maybe) we will keep the storks busy.
1) Work life balance
2) Employer attitude – ok to go home early (not OT everyday)
3) Housing – priority for couple with young kids
4) Paternity Leave – PM admits it is time for society to stand up for Daddies
5) Medical – more affordable
6) Pre-school availability – nearer to home and workplaces, raising standard
7) Baby Bonus – Social ethos is more important than incentives
Hooray !! Bravo !!
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We keep hearing words like work-life balance, easier access to flats, paternity leave, easier access to good quality pre-schools. What is being discussed in Forums and workgroups ?
1) From PAP Woman’s wing
2) www.Population.sg is conducting a survey. Daddy would like to pro-rate childcare leaves, extra two days for every additional child. More Daddies can then have more opportunities to participate in kids’ school activities.
3) Mummy Ai Sakura is helping to encourage more Daddies to be active parents too. She is asking a few daddy bloggers to add a voice in her “Celebrate Fatherhood” article.
Daddy will be talking about how a couples get “promoted” to parents, and whether a Dad’s user-manual does exist :p
Stay tune for our article next Sun.
..disclaimer.. It does not mean only bloggers are good Daddies.
4) ChannelNewsAsia fanpage was fishing for some comments. Daddy wants local-attraction prices to be made more affordable. We are fortunate and grateful that our blog gives SengkangBabies a lot of freebies and privileges, but we sincerely hope more families can enjoy the Zoo, the BirdPark more often.
It is ridiculous to pay $100 for a family of four at the Zoo !
Our Zoo is good, but how many can afford?
5) PA has a dialogue too. Read their findings.
6) 早安您好 did it too, with Daddy as a guest, talking about how Dads can be more involved in parenting.
If all fails, remove the cinemas, iphones and internet access. When couples are in love, and they have lesser distractions, they do the “natural” thing.
Daddy hope Singapore does not have to come to this stage !