DOES a father of an eight-year- old learning to ride a bike line the streets with cushions so the child will not hurt himself if he falls?

Answering his own question, MP Sam Tan (Tanjong Pagar GRC) felt it is best for the child to take the knocks as they come.

Recession? What recession? DESPITE all the gloom and doom coming out of the United States and other countries, it seems 'business as usual' for Singaporeans, who are still spending freely and as cheerful as ever, an MP has noted. Mr Sam Tan, MP of Tanjong Pagar GRC, wondered if this 'buoyant optimism' is the Government's fault. ... more RELATED LINKS  SPEECH BY MP SAM TAN

'A boy who is mollycoddled is a very different person from the one who is physically tough and takes spills without fear and whining,' he said on Monday.

This, too, can be the approach in helping Singaporeans during tough times, he told Parliament.

Noting that Singaporeans are continuing to spend amid the recession, he said this was good as it had a multiplier effect. But what concerned him was that they may be spending out of a false sense of security.

Mr Tan also noticed that some citizens - including the elderly who in the past relied on their children - are starting to zoom in on Government help, regarding it as an entitlement:

'Today, many see Government help as an entitlement, something that they should tap on as a first port of call, rather than a last resort,' he observed.

The elderly tell him they want to spare their children the 'burden' of caring for them. But Mr Tan is astonished and dismayed, and sometimes tells the supplicants: 'You should let your children care for you, not the state... because it is the right thing to do.'

Filial piety, he said, is one of the most fundamental values of the human race.

The reality is that the Government is now practised in the craft of 'recession-cushioning', he said as he questioned the true impact of this largesse and efficiency.

Read the full report in Tuesday's edition of The Straits Times.