More fathers take paternity leave; access to flexible work options remains high despite slight dip

SINGAPORE – More fathers in Singapore made use of their government-paid paternity leave in 2024, continuing an encouraging trend in recent years of men becoming more involved in caring for their children.

The proportion of fathers who took paternity leave increased from 47 per cent for children born in 2016 to 61 per cent for those born in 2024, according to a new report on family trends by the Ministry of Social and Family Development (MSF) released on July 10.

Data for 2025 is not yet available as parents have up to one year after their child’s birth to use their leave, while employers have a further three months to submit claims.

The 61 per cent take-up rate for fathers of children born in 2024 is a five percentage point increase from the 56 per cent recorded for those with children born in 2023.

The number of mothers who used their government-paid maternity leave has remained above 70 per cent since 2016. It increased from 74 per cent for children born in 2023 to 77 per cent for those born in 2024.

In response to queries from The Straits Times, MSF said about 80 per cent of parents who take paternity, maternity or childcare leave fully utilise their entitlements, based on data for the 2022 to 2024 birth cohorts.

The Government increased shared parental leave provisions from six weeks to 10 weeks from April 1.

Fathers of Singaporean children born from April 2025 are also entitled to four weeks of mandatory government-paid paternity leave, up from two weeks previously. In the past, they could get another two weeks of leave only if their companies agreed to offer it.

The take-up rate of childcare leave among fathers increased slightly from 53 per cent in 2023 to 54 per cent in 2024. The rate for mothers was 59 per cent for both 2023 and 2024.

On workplace flexibility, the proportion of resident employees aged 25 to 64 with access to the flexible work arrangements (FWAs) they needed dipped slightly to 84.5 per cent in 2024 from 87 per cent in 2023. But the rate remained well above the pre-pandemic level of 65.9 per cent in 2014.

The finding was based on data from the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) in its Survey on Employees’ Working Conditions released in May, which MSF highlighted in its report.

Scheduled FWAs include part-time work, staggered hours, flexi-hours, scheduled teleworking, homeworking, job sharing and compressed work-weeks.

The Tripartite Guidelines on FWA Requests, implemented in late 2024, are likely to support higher utilisation by clarifying request processes and norms, said MOM in its May report.

Speaking at a National Family Festival appreciation event on July 10, Minister for Social and Family Development Masagos Zulkifli said he is particularly heartened that fathers are playing an increasingly active role in parenting.

He said he hopes that measures such as enhancements to the shared parental leave scheme and support in the form of Child LifeSG credits will give parents, especially those caring for the youngest children, the confidence and resources they need.

Principal research fellow Mathew Mathews at the National University of Singapore’s Institute of Policy Studies told ST that the uptick in paternity leave usage suggests that social norms around caregiving are gradually changing.

“Fatherhood is increasingly being understood not only in terms of financial provision, but also in terms of presence, emotional involvement and active caregiving. This also shows that parenting is increasingly seen as a shared responsibility between mothers and fathers,” he said.

The higher use of paternity leave may also reflect progress among employers, as leave policies work well only when employees feel able to use them without stigma or career penalty.

“If more fathers are taking paternity leave, it suggests that some workplaces have become more accepting of men’s caregiving roles. That said, there is still room to normalise this further, especially in workplaces where men may still feel uncomfortable taking leave for family reasons,” he said.

“But leave at childbirth is a start. The deeper cultural shift will be seen when fathers are also more involved in daily routines, childcare, school matters, emotional support and the mental load of parenting.”

Singapore Management University sociology professor Paulin Tay Straughan expressed concern that some employers have rationalised a return to working full-time in the office.

“I believe flexible work arrangements are supremely important, especially now that we have a super-aged population where many of our parents will need caregiving. So, I hope we can look into this and help employers who have difficulties managing this flexibility to make it work for all.”

Continued access to affordable early childhood education

The number of full-day infant care places nearly tripled over the past 10 years to 17,639 places in 2025, while the number of full-day childcare places almost doubled to 205,234 in 2025, said the MSF report.

The enrolment rate for children aged three to four years increased from 73 per cent in 2015 to 91 per cent in 2025. The rate for those aged five to six years rose from 86 per cent in 2015 to 93 per cent in 2025.

Full-day childcare fee caps at anchor-operator and partner-operator pre-schools were further lowered by $40 in 2025. The industry median fee declined from $760 in 2021 to $680 in 2025.

Referrals for medium- to high-level early intervention support fell from 2,500 in 2024 to 2,300 in 2025, the lowest since 2020, continuing a downward trend that began in 2023.

MSF told ST that fewer children were assessed to require such levels of support. It said it will continue to monitor referral trends closely with KK Women’s and Children’s Hospital, as well as the National University Hospital.

Early intervention is the multidisciplinary support provided to children with developmental needs to maximise their development in the early years, according to MSF.

As of December 2025, there were 1,400 children on the waiting list for programmes providing medium- to high-level early intervention support, funded by the Early Childhood Development Agency.

The average wait time for enrolment was 5.5 months, said MSF. This was shorter than the 7.5 months in 2023, when 2,600 children were on the waiting list. 

More children received early intervention support in 2025 than in the previous year, particularly those requiring low levels of support.

There were 10,503 children who received early intervention in 2025, up from 10,186 in 2024. The number who needed low levels of support increased from 3,887 in 2024 to 4,221 in 2025. Those requiring medium to high levels of support dipped from 6,299 in 2024 to 6,282 in 2025.