Want more babies? Value, protect free time

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Letter from James Tsu

There has been much talk lately about how to increase Singapore's Total Fertility Rate (TFR). The main reason why it remains low is stress.

Many married couples both work full-time in order to afford a home and the cost of raising children.

And full-time workers frequently work overtime. I would even say that there is commonly an unstated expectation that one ought to be willing to stay beyond regular office hours without grumbling. Such individuals are seen by employers as hardworking and dedicated.

But with both husband and wife facing such pressures, as well as obligations to take care of their parents and in-laws, little time and energy is left for children.

The stressful education system, which has created pressure for many parents to send their children for expensive tuition to keep up, only makes this worse.

Logically, parents will only have as many children as they can afford financially as well as in terms of time and energy.

The problem is that productivity has been exalted to be our biggest goal as a nation. Productivity focuses on doing, on accomplishing things; and such a goal is valuable at work.

But a family isn't about doing; it's about being. At some point in a person's day, the pressure to do more must cease, and the importance of being with your loved ones must be emphasised.

We will see an improved TFR, as well as happier and healthier families, if we do two things.

First, make free time a priority, even a key performance indicator, in developing education syllabi. Ensure primary schools do not have their students spend more than a certain percentage of their day in classes and doing homework.

Children don't learn just by acquiring facts and skills in class; an important portion of a child's mental, emotional and even spiritual growth is nurtured through healthy play and exploration during free time. This will also stimulate creativity.

Second, emphasise work-life balance in the workplace, so that valuing the worker's "non-work" time becomes a cultural norm.

This is not to discourage hard workers but to put the onus on employers to value their workers as fellow Singaporeans and not simply as part of the supply chain.

It must be the employer's responsibility to ensure that the workload does not frequently encroach on his subordinates' private family time, and to compensate the worker fairly on the rare occasion that it does.

Once Singaporeans start to feel that their personal time with their loved ones is protected and valued, they will feel free - eager, even - to bring more children into this secure and happy state of affairs.