A netizen who said they have decided not to have children questioned whether having a smaller population may be better for the future, as opposed to the conventional wisdom that urges for a bigger one.
Singapore’s low fertility rate has been a cause for concern, along with its ageing society, although there have been some encouraging signs of late.
Reddit user objectivenneutral’s post on Monday (Oct 17) sparked an online discussion. They said that they’ve decided not to have children “after much thought.”
“I realise that having children is often treated like another checklist item – get married, buy house, have kids etc. But bringing a human life into this world is such a huge responsibility. This new life will have to face challenges, ups and downs, heartache etc.”
The decision to have kids should be “guided by an immense sense of responsibility, maturity and commitment,” instead of “dictated by public policy, GDP per capita, or supporting aging population.”
They also named the problems today caused by a “growing populations taxing finite natural resources” including climate change, pollution, food security, and income inequality.
“As such how can I bring a life into this world which I know will be headed towards really hard times?” the redditor asked
“Maybe it is high time society recognises this and re-writes the narrative about having kids. It should not rest on economics OR a life checklist.
We should rethink a future where there is a smaller population and it still continues to be economically viable – this would solve soo soo many problems in terms of housing, infrastructure, transport, immigration, jobs, and on a global level climate change, food security etc.”
They ended the post by asking, “is it just me who feels that having kids is being taken for granted?”
Surprisingly, the majority of commenters agreed with the netizen.
For 2022, the fertility rate for Singapore is 1.237 births per woman, showing a .57 per cent increase from 2021. However, to ensure a broadly “stable” population, a total fertility rate of 2.1 children per woman is said to be “necessary”. /TISG