Are babies really that Expensive?

Singapore’s birth rate has always been a hot debate topic. Even up till now we can still see people contributing their thoughts on this topic to TODAY newspaper. It's not difficult to notice that many people attributed the low birth rate to the cost and difficulty of raising their offspring due to monetary, time and career constraints.

While chitchatting with my hubby this morning about how some folks can raise 3-4 children with a meager income while dual income folks like us keep saying that we can't afford to have a 2nd child.

Let's touch our own heart and tell ourselves the truth of why we keep saying we can't afford. I'll just share a few reasons why having kids have become more expensive in today's context.

1) Last time when "mata" still wearing shorts, most of our mums don't go to gynae and sign expensive package for their prenatal checks. They go to polyclinic, which are usually free or just cost them a few bucks

Now, we women must go to gynae and sign exclusive and expensive packages for our prenatal checks, we no longer trust polyclinics nor those doctors "anyhow" assigned to us from KKH when we walk in.

2) Last time most of our mums popped at the old KKH in the most crowded wards without a gynae. It's usu the midwives who "hob" (catch) us when our mums squeezed us out.

Now, we prefer those hospital in the "mountains" such as Mount E, Mount A and of course other places like TMC, Raffles Hospital, Gleneagles etc and we only want our "one and only" gynae to help us "hob" our baby instead of any other Mary, Lucy or Nancy. Their hands come with a price loh.

It's no longer cool to give birth in SGH, AH or KKH and we want to stay alone or at most with another "neighbour". We don't want to be squeezed together as if we are in some refugee camp.

From "$50 also can get back change" during the old KKH days, our bill has escalated many folds to few thousand dollars.

3) Last time our mums are power women who can endure the pain of labour without any form of painkiller. Now most of us are made of "tou hu" (beancurd) and will fall apart at the slightest jab of pain and scream for epidural which will set us back by a few hundred dollars.

4) Last time our mums bring us to polyclinic for our 1st year assessment and vaccinations and even when we are ill we go polyclinic "see doctor" (more like doctor see us).

Now, some mums prefer to bring their precious one to private PD for assessment, vaccinations and consultations.

Again from the free and cheap cheap polyclinic to the $50-$100 PD.

5) Last time our "ma sak" (toys) are bought from the uncle who sells all the plastic looking "ma sak" at the "pa sut" (market).

Now, we must buy Fisher-Price lah, Little Tikes lah etc.

6) Last time we wear cloth nappies throughout the day, now must let our little ones wear Pampers Premium to protect their cute little butts.

7) Last time any kind of stroller or pram will do, so long got 4 wheels can roll about and contain the baby can liao, now, many mums dream of Maclaren.

8) Last time we wear those "perforated" little singlets (u know, those singlet with many little holes, majiam a net one??) bought from "pa sut", now we must shop at Mothercare etc and we prefer our babies to be clad once in awhile in baby Guess, baby DKNY, "O'god my'God" (oshkosh bgosh)etc.

9) Last time our mum feed us porridge we eat porridge, feed us rice we eat rice. Now, babies are fed organic food, Gerber, Heinz and some other "cheem cheem" brands I don't even know how to spell and needless to say they cost more.

10) Last time our mum throw us along the corridors to play with our neighbours and that's what they consider development and socializing, now we are looking at those expensive courses to help develop our infants' brains, motor skills and socializing skills.

Aiyoh... and the list goes on and on!!! So ahhh, should we keep lamenting to the govt that cost of popping and delivering a child is escalating?? Of course, not all mums choose the expensive way out, I'm just stating some very stereotype examples in the above list. There are still plenty of down to earth women in Singapore who will consider wisely on their choices to suit their own financial ability.

I was calculating to Kiat ahh, if I continue to breastfeed Declan, let him wear Drypers instead of Pampers (cloth nappies out of the question lah… tedious to wash and also waste water mah hor? :p), no more Fisher-Price toys, no more new clothes, except during CNY (he’s got so much of hand me downs that our room is like a warehouse now), go polyclinic for consultation etc., no more avocados, cut down his variety of snacks to just normal cream crackers, don’t buy insurance etc wahhh then having a kid no longer seem to eat so deep into our pockets anymore. But ahh…the kid will end up majiam very deprive hor? So “ke lian”

See? That’s mindset of many parents today. Many of them, just like me, have many cheaper and cost savings options, but due to the “scarcity” of our own offspring now, we prefer to indulge in them and jacked up our own cost of living and of course when that happen, Singaporeans will do what they are best at – BLAME OUR GOVT on the high cost of living….*piak* (slaps forehead).

The chicken and the egg question comes again : “ We have less children now so we indulge on them or issit because we choose to indulge in our children (and thus jacking our own cost of living) that’s why we can afford less children now?

Which type of situation are you in? For me, I guess, I’m one of those guilty mums who choose to indulge in my child resulting me in lamenting I cannot afford a second one. But ahhh I did not blame our govt hor?!