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| May 6, 2008 | |
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More want to get married. More want children
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| Survey indicates that Government's pro-family policies are working | |
| By Maria Almenoar & Melissa Sim | |
| MORE Singaporeans and permanent residents here want to get married.
And of those who are, more want children in their lives. A survey last year of 3,015 singles by the Ministry of Community Development, Youth and Sports revealed that 85 per cent of them looked forward to settling down, compared with 74 per cent in a similar exercise in 2004. Respondents came from all income and education levels, and were aged between 15 and 44. Those who did not want to get married said the main reason was that they had not met the right person yet. The No. 2 reason was that they wanted to concentrate on their studies or careers. The ranking of reasons was the same as that in 2004. The survey also threw up another bit of good news for a country battling to reverse a falling birth rate: Only 2 per cent of 3,006 married people polled last year said they did not want any children, down from 7 per cent in the 2004 survey. More said they wanted two or more children - 84 per cent last year, compared with 67 per cent in 2004. Singapore's fertility rate in 2006 was 1.26, compared with 1.66 in 1996. According to the ministry, pro-family measures and incentives introduced by the Government since 2004 were part of the reason why more people wanted to get married and have children. Among the incentives to get Singaporeans to have more kids is the so-called 'Baby Bonus' - a payout ranging from $3,000 to $18,000 for those who have children. Other initiatives include allowing Medisave to be used for conception procedures and pre-delivery medical expenses. To get more singles to consider getting married, there is the Government's Central Provident Fund housing top-up grant. The grant is key because most singles - 89 per cent in the latest survey - say they want their own homes after marriage. Almost a third said they would postpone getting married if they could not have their own home. The survey showed that 83 per cent of those polled thought such pro-family measures were working. National University of Singapore sociologist Paulin Straughan agreed. 'I think there is a direct relationship between the policies and the desire to start a family,' she said. 'The state has sent a strong signal that having a family is socially valuable, and this ideological backing is important.' Professor Straughan said that the good economy last year also contributed to parents looking to have more children. In 2004, by contrast, the economy was struggling to overcome the fallout from the Sars outbreak. She said: 'When you can see an optimistic future, you will naturally have confidence to be a parent and to invest in a family.' The survey bears this out. Financial security is the first thing couples consider when deciding how many children to have. Next on the list is their partner's wishes, followed by their age, their partner's age and the time needed to care for children. For women in particular, the proportion of those who wanted to juggle work and raising their children remained high. More than 80 per cent of those who were single and 60 per cent of those who were married said they preferred to be working mums. However, more women indicated that they would prefer not to work when their children were young - 31 per cent last year, up from 26 per cent in 2004. But having more women who wanted to be working mums is a problem, said Prof Straughan. 'Women want more children, but they also want to build their careers,' she said. 'So while there is a desire for more children, this may not translate into couples actually having more kids.' | |
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