This month seems to be a month of marriages, with me witnessing, one after another, my friends, stepping into the aisle, being congratulated by friends and relatives.
To get married at the age of twenty-plus in this age is considered early. Marriage is a commitment and my friends are already signing on this life long commitment at this tender age.
Married or not, there are pros and cons, and it depends on one’s viewpoints of things. Responsibilities come flooding once one gets married. Being a good husband, a good father, taking care of wife and children, managing accounts and expenses and having real little time for oneself.
All these commitments are challenges. To some, these are pros and they relish these challenges. For others, these commitments may be costly and one prefers to be single and free of commitments.
Singapore is at a development stage where we need more babies as our population is ageing and declining. To tackle the problem of our population shrinking, our youth needs to procreate and to procreate more.
Though the government has dangled more and more carrots to attract earlier marriage and more procreation among our population and also played some match-making roles, the procreation rate may still need to be ratcheted up at a faster pace.
My personal opinion is that apart from an increasing worldwide social trend of people preferring to remain single, the higher and higher costs of living may also deter some from starting a family or having more children.
Higher costs of living is inevitable, however it is a blessing that the government is trying to reduce the stresses of this bugbear through its various initiatives.
To get married at the age of twenty-plus in this age is considered early. Marriage is a commitment and my friends are already signing on this life long commitment at this tender age.
Married or not, there are pros and cons, and it depends on one’s viewpoints of things. Responsibilities come flooding once one gets married. Being a good husband, a good father, taking care of wife and children, managing accounts and expenses and having real little time for oneself.
All these commitments are challenges. To some, these are pros and they relish these challenges. For others, these commitments may be costly and one prefers to be single and free of commitments.
Singapore is at a development stage where we need more babies as our population is ageing and declining. To tackle the problem of our population shrinking, our youth needs to procreate and to procreate more.
Though the government has dangled more and more carrots to attract earlier marriage and more procreation among our population and also played some match-making roles, the procreation rate may still need to be ratcheted up at a faster pace.
My personal opinion is that apart from an increasing worldwide social trend of people preferring to remain single, the higher and higher costs of living may also deter some from starting a family or having more children.
Higher costs of living is inevitable, however it is a blessing that the government is trying to reduce the stresses of this bugbear through its various initiatives.
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