WHEN details of the parenthood package were unwrapped at the National Day Rally (NDR) on Aug 17, they were less than three weeks old.

They were finalised only on July 31, Deputy Prime Minister Wong Kan Seng disclosed on Saturday. Even then, minor details were still being sorted out in the first two weeks of August.

Thereafter, the Government would need time to put in place the necessary legislative and administrative changes.

Mr Wong gave the calendar of events to explain why Jan 1 next year was originally picked as the date to implement the measures.

But in response to 'the strong appeal' from expectant parents whose babies were due before Jan 1, he brought it forward, after discussions with Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong.

On Thursday, he announced that the new starting date would be Aug 17, the day PM Lee made the announcement at the NDR.

The cost of doing so: 'quite a few million dollars', said Mr Wong.

Still, unhappiness remains in some quarters today.

In postings on Internet forums and in letters to newspapers, some parents want the starting date to be pushed back even further, with a few even calling for it to go as far back as 2004 when the last baby package was unveiled.

Speaking to the media on the sidelines of a Sinda event, Mr Wong, who chairs the National Population Committee, explained why this was not feasible.

'The public needs to appreciate that specific start dates are needed for any policy or measure, and the Government cannot backdate the enhanced package indefinitely,' he said.

'At any point in time when we make a decision to say this is the date, there will always be people who fall outside that date.That is unfortunate, and I can understand their disappointment. But we need to have a cut-off date, otherwise it'd never end.'

Read the full story in tomorrow's edition of The Sunday Times.