The 3 part series on Channel News Asia "Maybe a Baby?" was held just this week. Hosted by The Flying Dutchman, this forum is a platform where women and men, single and married from all walks of life air their views pertaining to the Baby issue. Issues surfaced, such as women are too career minded nowadays, and see no need in finding a partner. One night-stand suits fine, in other words. No time is another factor.
Then comes the men, who claims that Singaporean women are too focused on the 5 Cs when it comes to marriage, adding that they feel scrutinized on the first date already. The men thinks that women probably have a "checklist" to measure a guy's worth - and they don't like it. However, when asked what age would they get their life partner, most replied that the ideal age would be of a similar age, debunking the saying that men in the 30's primarily goes for women in the 20's.
So, what more has to be done to increase the birth rates?
Parents argued that they want paternal leave as well. Then Straits Times came up with a survey of men across the globe, even when given paternal leave, chooses not to use it. A simple reason is that men's earning power are generally higher than that of a women's.
Today, in the Sunday Times, Ignatious Low wrote about educating the next generation about love and sex at a younger age. His ideology is to inculcate pro-baby values and ideologies in them. If not, by the time they enter adulthood, their pre-conceived notion will be difficult to change. Well, true. Isn't that already done with all the Sex Talks and a fixed lesson a week to address issues like relationships and sex? I remember attending these kind of lessons and talks since primary school. Polytchnics now also have a module on Relationships, which saw the most number of student enrolling. When interviewed about the popularity of the course, the main reason is that the module is easy to score. But the students are attending the classes, aren't they?
Another point he brought up was to make hostel compulsory for all university students. It'll be fun, of course. But the next problem brought up by families would be the money issue. Is the government going to fund those who needs financial aids? And talk about democracy when one can't even have a choice of staying in hostels. Some people just prefer flying solo!
On the other hand, i do agree with Mr.Low that probably all schools should be made bisexual. I've had many friends who graduated from an all girls school, and after being thrown into Uni life, they just aren't used to the mere presence of the oppsite sex!
I personally feel that on top of the talks given in schools, Asian parents should be more open-minded when coming to discussing these issues with their children. Parents, besides teachers, plays a crucial role in the development of the children's life - not solely education and providing them with materialistic fulfilment. So, besides educating the children, the Government should probably start courses for parents on "How to communicate with your child about Love and Sex".
Labels: General Affairs
