It was recently published that Singapore’s Total Fertility Rate (‘TFR’) dropped below 1.0 for the very first time. A psychological mark has been breached and this dominated Parliament debates and social commentaries. Given the clear TFR trend, factors such as 1) marriage plans disrupted by COVID-19 and 2) low births during the Zodiac of the Tiger continue to ring hollow. The declining TFR is a perennial problem that our government has tried to address as early as 2004 but to no avail. Plenty of money has been thrown at the problem but it has failed to stem the tide. Since this is a grave demographic problem, I think the time is opportune to try radical measures to increase Singapore’s total fertility rate. I am not a demographer nor a population scientist but this is what I have to offer as a father raising 2 young children in Singapore. The measures I am going to propose may sound like I am throwing in the kitchen sink but why not, especially since nothing much has worked so far.
1) Wait For BTO Should Be Less Than 18 Months
Currently, the average wait time for a BTO is 4 years. It is longer if the development is taller. This is way too long and every year waste waiting is a year less in a woman’s biological clock. From my own personal experience, I waited almost 5 years from application to my BTO key collection. As we wanted to ensure that we have a stable roof over our heads, we delayed our transition into parenthood. Thankfully, we were still able to conceive when we felt emotionally ready.
Diagram 1: Heartland Boy is grateful to have Olympia and Lenora
Therefore, I am proposing that the wait for BTO should be
