1 child policy -Xinhui

Reflection(26/1/2015)

I think Singapore face similar issue about our population but unlike China, we have too little newborn babies. Birth rates in Singapore has been dwindling as our ageing population has been increasing by the day. The Singapore Government is trying to encourage more couples to have children by providing bonuses and subsidies. Furthermore, every SG50 baby would have a bonus baby package and a special birth certificate, spurting more couples to give birth to a new baby in conjunction with Singapore 50th year, the year of 2015. Many couples refuse to have more children because of financial stress they may face. Singapore economy may sooner take for a downfall because of short of manpower, and our Government would have to recruit more foreign talent, causing unhappiness among many Singaporeans, and causing them to lose faith and trust in our Government. I thought maybe we should reflect on ourselves why our Government have to recruit foreign talents instead of reapproaching the Government about this matter. Maybe we can have more children so that our Government do not need to recruit foreign talents? Or maybe we can stop more Singaporeans from migrating overseas in search for better future? Although the Government have provided couples with subsidies for their children, it is still not enough, because 1 million dollars is the average to raising a child. Hence, youngsters nowadays would have to solely provide for many ageing family members, causing them to have financial and mental stress. Thus, they would also not want to have children because they are worried about having heavier financial burden. I think the Government can provide couples with more subsidies like medical fees for children, and more yearly allowance for students, which can reduce parents financial stress, and spurr them to have more children.