It's the quality, not the quantity

Today's news again talk about our declining birth rate, and to me an idea that should never be thought of in the first place. Granted that this idea came from someone not in the policy making committee. This idea is to give single parent all the perks that Singapore families (2 parents) currently have.

I've nothing against single parent, and I do admire their courage in taking that route. However, I do not think that the government should encourage such behaviour. In anything that we do, we should always concentrate on the quality, and not the quantity. Many researches have shown that kids born into single families encounter the most problems. This is understandable because the single parent has to work doubly hard to ensure their survival.

The crux of the problem lies where the single parent has to work. The child suffers because the single parent has to work harder, and we have not even taken into account the single parent's parents.

When the child grows up without the support of any of the parents, they tend to encounter problems, be it in their personality or their attitude towards life. How many problems about youths that were reported in the news is due to kids whose parents are too busy at work or due to neglection? The writer should gather all the statistics from his colleagues in the news agency before giving such an idea.

Granted that this is not 100% of all cases and there are true gems, but the statistics are out there for all to see. Should the government risk it all and take this route? I have to say a firm no, for the sake of the future Singapore generation, and the low crime rate that Singapore currently enjoys. The low crime rate has everything to do with educational and family policies. The low crime rate is also one of the reasons why companies prefer to be based in Singapore, providing more jobs for Singaporeans. Everything links.

I do agree with the writer though that there's no turning back on the replacement policy because of the government emphasis on the economy. The only thing that we can do is to find a job that allows us ample family bonding time.

If the result is less pay, so be it. I prefer quality over quantity anytime.