Forum: Parents need practical help for housing and workplace arrangements
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I have been following the recent parliamentary debate on Singapore’s low birth rate new task force
As a working mother of an infant, I would like to share what these issues look like on the ground.
My baby attends infant care, not by preference but by necessity. Grandparents cannot provide full-time caregiving and hiring a helper is not straightforward either. We live in a three-room flat, with baby items already spilling into the living room. Space constraints make it difficult to house another adult.
We even appealed to the HDB to shorten our Minimum Occupation Period so that we could move to a slightly larger flat to better accommodate our growing family. Despite support from our MP, the appeal was rejected.
When my maternity leave ended, I asked for flexible work arrangements. After discussions, my company agreed to a six-month part-time arrangement – reduced workload, reduced hours and reduced pay – which I accepted gratefully.
However, I have been informed that this arrangement cannot be extended. I must either return to full-time work after six months or resign. A mid-point review has already been scheduled for March to determine my decision.
I share this not to criticise any single institution. Rather, this illustrates how multiple systems – housing policy, workplace norms, caregiving realities – converge on young families at the same time.
We often speak about financial incentives to encourage births. But many couples are wrestling with a more immediate question: Is it realistically sustainable to raise a child without constant strain?
I want to be a committed employee and a present mother. Yet the structures around us often make it feel like we must choose.
If Singapore is serious about addressing its birth rate, we must look beyond task forces and statements of encouragement. Employers need clearer signals, stronger norms and perhaps firmer frameworks around flexible work, especially for parents of young children.
For some families, these decisions are not theoretical. By June, I will have to decide whether to resign or return to full-time work under significant stress. Such real-life trade-offs inevitably shape whether families feel able to have a second child.
If we hope to change fertility outcomes, we must urgently change the lived experience of parenthood.
Nicole Yee
