SINGAPORE: A Singaporean took to social media to express why he thinks the birth rate in the country has been declining.

In an anonymous post on the NUSWhispers Facebook page, the individual mentioned that while many people cite financial concerns as the main reason for not having children, he believes the issue goes beyond money.

“Realistically, I feel that it’s not just about the money but the lifestyle in SG that’s making young couples think twice before having kids,” he said.

He explained that while it is possible to have children on a modest budget, with a combined salary of around $4,000, it would require many sacrifices.

Couples in this situation would struggle to provide their kids with a comfortable life, and managing everything without extra help would be a massive challenge, especially if both parents are working.

“It is just logistically impossible or very challenging if both parents are working and do not have any external help, like no helper, not all have grandparents around to help or grandparents still working because retirement age has increased.”

He also described the daily grind parents face nowadays: rushing to drop their kids off at childcare, working long hours, and then coming home to handle parenting duties, all while being sleep-deprived—especially with a baby who wakes up at night.

He also pointed out how tough it is from the kid’s perspective.

“Bringing them into the world only to spend 2-3 waking hours with parents on weekdays and then being left at infant care or childcare all day, especially when the child is not even 7 years old, [seems wrong] when they should be spending more time with family,” he opined.

While he acknowledged the troubling decline in the birth rate, he expressed that it was even more disheartening to think about the lifestyle parents and children endure today.

He also recognized that financial stability could make things easier—families with higher incomes can afford domestic help or a car—but he noted that most young couples don’t have such luxuries.

“Some young couples may even have to delay childbirth because BTO takes 4+ years, or they have already drained their savings to buy resale flats and need to save before having kids,” he said.

“Well, please try to convince me that I should have kids; I really need some reasons to,” he wrote, unconvinced that anyone even could.

“Throughout human history, having kids has never been an economic decision.”

In the comments section, many netizens weighed in with their thoughts, some agreeing with the Singaporean’s concerns and others offering different perspectives.

One netizen, a father of four, said, “In my opinion, if you are not ready, then don’t. If you are ready, then do. I have seen people with all the right scores finding 1000 excuses not to.

On the flip side, I have seen people seemingly not having the right score finding 1000 reasons to have children. To me, it is a matter of commitment.”

Another commented, “Ultimately, it’s all about personal choice. Kids are just part of our life. Whatever reasons a person has to or does not have kids are personal. Others have no right to criticize their choice.

So you be you, why bother about others? Just live your own life. Cheers.”

A third said, “The excuse that there is not enough money to raise kids is untrue. Throughout human history, having kids has never been an economic decision.

Otherwise, we would see that couples are more likely to have kids when income increases; this is not the case, and the trend is in fact the opposite.”

Singapore’s fertility rate

Singapore’s fertility rate has dropped below 1.0, and despite the government’s efforts to reverse this trend with a range of attractive incentives—including the Baby Bonus Cash worth up to S$13,000 and extended paternity leave—many locals are still on the fence or outright rejecting the idea of having kids.

In an online forum, some locals have been vocal about why. Commonly cited factors include a lack of parental instinct, concerns about unstable career prospects, and the high cost of living.

Read more: High cost of living listed as one of the reasons some Singaporeans don’t plan to have kids

Featured image by Freepik (for illustration purposes only)