<TABLE border=0 cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%"><TBODY><TR>Did not some lau cb say that the Pledge is but an aspirtation and that he's duty bound by the Constitution to discriminate?
What mothers want
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<!-- START OF : div id="storytext"--><!-- more than 4 paragraphs -->Govt must end discrimination by employers
I REFER to Monday's letter by Mr Nicholas Lim, 'Who says Baby Bonus scheme is not a success?'
Although I agree that the Baby Bonus scheme does help couples who are already planning to have children in firming up their decision, it is not necessarily the main factor for couples to consider when planning to have babies.
Before I planned to have children, one factor I considered was that I might have to quit my job and be a stay- home mother for at least 10 years. Hence, the shift from dual to single income for at least 10 years was my main factor of consideration.
When I had my first son, I stayed home to look after him as my parents did not live nearby and my in-laws were elderly. I did not want to employ a maid to care for my infant for fear of child abuse.
When my younger son was 14 months old, I decided to return to the workforce as I wanted to remain employable. I placed my children in the nearby infant and childcare centre.
However, I soon realised it was not easy to find a job as prospective employers dropped me from their lists once they realised I could not work late as I had to take my children home before 7.30pm. Moreover, I had to consider the distance taken to commute between work and home in order to be on time to collect my children.
Currently, I am still looking for a job but, so far, I have not been successful. I can understand why many graduate mothers prefer to be full-time housewives to concentrate on looking after their children as it is almost impossible to juggle work and family without support.
In Singapore, employers are still not prepared to be flexible in hiring mothers, so women who plan to have children and can manage on a single income are likely to quit after childbirth. Others who think their career path will be affected after having children may choose not to have children at all.
In these respects, the Government needs to do more than implement the Baby Bonus scheme to increase the declining birth rate.
Susan Hu (Ms)
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Consider back-to-work incentives
I READ with interest about the less-than-favourable results of the Baby Bonus incentive dangled by the Government.
The monetary incentive, though reasonably good, may not be an attractive stimulant, especially to modern and educated couples. A number of my friends and I, graduate mothers who gave up our career to tend to the needs of our family, decided to have at least one, and most of us three children, not for any incentive but for love of children and family.
Some of our friends who were more keen to pursue their careers decided to have either one or no children due to the limited time they could spend with the family.
Perhaps the Government should look into incentives to help working women put their career on hold to start a family with two or more children and a strategy to help us integrate back into the workforce.
Skills upgrading and job connection are essential. Course fees can be a deterrent for stay-home mothers. A strategy that includes a study grant for professional courses like a master's degree would be useful.
Career women would value the opportunity to upgrade if we can have the acknowledgement and support of the Government so as to maximise our stay-home years for the family. A period of three to five years usually works well for most families planning to have two or more children.
Besides this, the Government may want to consider giving priority admission to primary schools for families with a certain number of children. Parents go a long way to secure a place for their children in their chosen school. Perhaps those with three or more children can have priority similar to that of alumni and those with two children priority similar to that of volunteers.
While we do not encourage parents to put their children in schools far from home, such priority might be extended to schools within 10km. This might help minimise the escalation of property prices and the unnecessary hassle of families chasing property within 1km of their chosen school.
Callie Gay (Ms)
What mothers want
</TR><!-- headline one : end --><!-- show image if available --></TBODY></TABLE>
<!-- START OF : div id="storytext"--><!-- more than 4 paragraphs -->Govt must end discrimination by employers
I REFER to Monday's letter by Mr Nicholas Lim, 'Who says Baby Bonus scheme is not a success?'
Although I agree that the Baby Bonus scheme does help couples who are already planning to have children in firming up their decision, it is not necessarily the main factor for couples to consider when planning to have babies.
Before I planned to have children, one factor I considered was that I might have to quit my job and be a stay- home mother for at least 10 years. Hence, the shift from dual to single income for at least 10 years was my main factor of consideration.
When I had my first son, I stayed home to look after him as my parents did not live nearby and my in-laws were elderly. I did not want to employ a maid to care for my infant for fear of child abuse.
When my younger son was 14 months old, I decided to return to the workforce as I wanted to remain employable. I placed my children in the nearby infant and childcare centre.
However, I soon realised it was not easy to find a job as prospective employers dropped me from their lists once they realised I could not work late as I had to take my children home before 7.30pm. Moreover, I had to consider the distance taken to commute between work and home in order to be on time to collect my children.
Currently, I am still looking for a job but, so far, I have not been successful. I can understand why many graduate mothers prefer to be full-time housewives to concentrate on looking after their children as it is almost impossible to juggle work and family without support.
In Singapore, employers are still not prepared to be flexible in hiring mothers, so women who plan to have children and can manage on a single income are likely to quit after childbirth. Others who think their career path will be affected after having children may choose not to have children at all.
In these respects, the Government needs to do more than implement the Baby Bonus scheme to increase the declining birth rate.
Susan Hu (Ms)
<HR SIZE=1 width="50%">
Consider back-to-work incentives
I READ with interest about the less-than-favourable results of the Baby Bonus incentive dangled by the Government.
The monetary incentive, though reasonably good, may not be an attractive stimulant, especially to modern and educated couples. A number of my friends and I, graduate mothers who gave up our career to tend to the needs of our family, decided to have at least one, and most of us three children, not for any incentive but for love of children and family.
Some of our friends who were more keen to pursue their careers decided to have either one or no children due to the limited time they could spend with the family.
Perhaps the Government should look into incentives to help working women put their career on hold to start a family with two or more children and a strategy to help us integrate back into the workforce.
Skills upgrading and job connection are essential. Course fees can be a deterrent for stay-home mothers. A strategy that includes a study grant for professional courses like a master's degree would be useful.
Career women would value the opportunity to upgrade if we can have the acknowledgement and support of the Government so as to maximise our stay-home years for the family. A period of three to five years usually works well for most families planning to have two or more children.
Besides this, the Government may want to consider giving priority admission to primary schools for families with a certain number of children. Parents go a long way to secure a place for their children in their chosen school. Perhaps those with three or more children can have priority similar to that of alumni and those with two children priority similar to that of volunteers.
While we do not encourage parents to put their children in schools far from home, such priority might be extended to schools within 10km. This might help minimise the escalation of property prices and the unnecessary hassle of families chasing property within 1km of their chosen school.
Callie Gay (Ms)
