I thank all for their patience (esp Jun Xiang) in waiting for my reponse on this topic as I was very busy with Common Test marking. Now that that is out of the way, it is time for me to give my 2 cent's worth again...
4 months maternity leave is a great idea if you ask me. I think leaving your baby and going back to work is a tough thing for new mothers, especially if you do not have strong support from family (like your parents to help look after). It gives the mum more time to spend with the newborn and afterall, if you have a baby, you don't solely want to leave the parenting to someone else right? Other measures introduced have been lauded by the mums and mums to be but let me share what I think can be further improved:
1. More subsidy should be given for IVF treatments.
Let's face it - no couple, if they had a choice, would want to go through IVF to conceive a child. The injections, multiple visits to the doctor and hefty cost is really no fun. Worst of all, there is no guarantee you'll succeed. With the new measures introduced, the government is only subidising 30% of the first 2 treatments which I think is too little. 50% should be better, in my opinion as this could really encourage more couples to go for IVF.
2. Incentives for stay home / single mums
In case you're not aware, single and stay home mums do not get any of the incentives the government is introducing. My heart goes out most to the single mums who still work and contribute to the economy but get nothing. The government's rhetoric is that they want to encourage a pro family environment but I quote a single mum who said, "If i could marry my baby's dad, I would have done so a long time ago." There are also others who get a divorce due to adultery and other personal reasons then render them in their current situation. Being single parents, are they not the ones who deserve the most help? And I also do not think that if we give them these incentives, it will encourage more women to be single parents. Stay home mums also deserve something at least - for sacrificing their careers to nurture and bring up their children. The government obviously wants to reward mums who contribute to the economy but maybe we can give these hero mummys a share of the pie too?
3. I'm still fighting for more paternity leave. At least 2 weeks, Mr Wong Kan Seng..This will send a signal that we want more dads to be involved in parenting!
4 months maternity leave is a great idea if you ask me. I think leaving your baby and going back to work is a tough thing for new mothers, especially if you do not have strong support from family (like your parents to help look after). It gives the mum more time to spend with the newborn and afterall, if you have a baby, you don't solely want to leave the parenting to someone else right? Other measures introduced have been lauded by the mums and mums to be but let me share what I think can be further improved:
1. More subsidy should be given for IVF treatments.
Let's face it - no couple, if they had a choice, would want to go through IVF to conceive a child. The injections, multiple visits to the doctor and hefty cost is really no fun. Worst of all, there is no guarantee you'll succeed. With the new measures introduced, the government is only subidising 30% of the first 2 treatments which I think is too little. 50% should be better, in my opinion as this could really encourage more couples to go for IVF.
2. Incentives for stay home / single mums
In case you're not aware, single and stay home mums do not get any of the incentives the government is introducing. My heart goes out most to the single mums who still work and contribute to the economy but get nothing. The government's rhetoric is that they want to encourage a pro family environment but I quote a single mum who said, "If i could marry my baby's dad, I would have done so a long time ago." There are also others who get a divorce due to adultery and other personal reasons then render them in their current situation. Being single parents, are they not the ones who deserve the most help? And I also do not think that if we give them these incentives, it will encourage more women to be single parents. Stay home mums also deserve something at least - for sacrificing their careers to nurture and bring up their children. The government obviously wants to reward mums who contribute to the economy but maybe we can give these hero mummys a share of the pie too?
3. I'm still fighting for more paternity leave. At least 2 weeks, Mr Wong Kan Seng..This will send a signal that we want more dads to be involved in parenting!
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