I’ve been following the Singapore Still Needs More Babies issue with much interest (cos yeah, I do want more babies :) ), hope (usually what The Old Man says goes) and cynicism (cosmetic and monetary incentives won’t really work unless structural changes are effected). I really miss the family-friendly and pro-family lifestyle and culture in Australia, where working part-time or freelance is always possible and where family support is lacking, community-based support is always available.
Apparently the gahmen had recently sent a delegation to Sweden to follow the day-to-day activities of a typical family at home and at the kindergarten. Let's hope some sense is driven into their policy-making brains.
Check out France’s and Norway’s parental benefits. Lovely.
Anyone read Saturday’s ST forum pages? This guy wrote in and boldly suggested that child-rearing and parenting should be recognized as a valued sacrifice/career in itself, and that if working mothers choose to stop working after having their second child, and choose to have more children, then the gahmen should pay them their last-drawn salary for the next 10 years. !!!
Oh alangkah indahnya! Please please please make that happen!
On a separate note, I was talking to Ilhan about not wasting water.
Ibu: Ilhan tak boleh bazir air ok? Planet Earth is sick and it does not have enough water anymore. Without water we’ll die.
Ilhan: Kita doa untuk Planet Earth ok? (with raised palms) O Allah, tolong jaga Planet Earth, jangan kasi Planet Earth sakit. Jangan kasi air habis. Amin.
A simple reminder and innocent manifestation of iman - turn to Him. it's the simple answer to everything.
On another separate note, anyone watched the debut episode of 1988...Segaris Sinar? Brilliant show with a brilliant cast. i think it herald a new standard in local malay drama. And of course, the eye for detail in portraying life circa 1988 with the coin-phone and old bus-stop and kedai bawah blok. the emotions and pain are all emoted so well, even by the kids. don't miss it.
"if working mothers choose to stop working after having their second child, and choose to have more children, then the gahmen should pay them their last-drawn salary for the next 10 years. !!!"
ReplyDelete.... Wah, if this were to happen, I bet the no of babies will definitely increase. Seriously, I feel some women don't want to procreate cos of the fear that their career will have to take a back seat and they are not willing to make such sacrifices. Others are just worried about the high cost of raising a kid. Sighs!
Anyway, I'm watching Segaris Sinar rite now n I love it! Terkenang time 1988 waktu I amik PSLE. Hehehe...
i pun tengah tengok ni! teringat time i'm in primary 4 lalalala masih main bawah block...enrichment class? apa itu enrichment class?? the tema is such a refreshing change from the usual anak-metropolitan/cintaQ crap.
ReplyDeleteas for that guy's suggestion..haiii....gahmen takkan ok go punya....
haha ilhan so cute!and i missed the first episode coz i was out!did manage to catch the second ep today,looks promising albeit a bit slow.care to give me a brief summary of ep 1?
ReplyDeleteIlhan: Kita doa untuk Planet Earth ok? (with raised palms) O Allah, tolong jaga Planet Earth, jangan kasi Planet Earth sakit. Jangan kasi air habis. Amin" wow keep it up ilhan..save e earth...thumbs up...
ReplyDeleteanyway frm e pic, ilyas look so chubby...bestnya kalau dapat gigit pipinya itu...
hehehe...ilyas punya tangan tu muscle tau...banyak buat push ups!
ReplyDeleteand yes...the paid mother idea sound great!!!!!!!!!!!!
i think kalau gahmen tak kasi banyak incentives pun takpe...at least those single-income shld get more subsidies and benefits. single-income family tu kan lebih perlu extra monies, no? ni kasi subsidies at the same time wants our contributions to the cpf. their subsidies to our contributions monthly tu, rasanye the whole country contributions is so much more. they shld also cut down the cost of education and enrichment classes. you want an all-rounded student but charge us so high. i can go on n on. sebenarnya si datuk tua tu lebih perlukan anak2 dari 'kerabat' yg sama...sebab mereka2 yg tidak berapa suka ber-anak...leceh. kalau ada pun satu cukup lah. kerabat kita2 saje yg suka ada tapi kurang mampu dibandingkan mereka..sbb tu cost of living tinggi, semuanya tinggi. percentage of them being rich is so much higher, they will survive. this is a world of the survival of the 'fittest'.
ReplyDeletespore's not tt family-friendly yet. now i'm thinking office hrs shld be 9-4pm. boleh tak? kesian tgk my DH balik just in time for dinner, some interactions w the kids then sleep. kadang2 tu tak sampai nak dinner sama2. weekends r burn to classes, invites, visitings n errands tt i cant do without him (including window shopping) hehehe. life here is just too rushing...everything is rushing. how to hv a balanced, healthy and enjoy the moment kinda life?
kalau kita jadi paid mothers nanti anak kita jadi dia punya not ours. paid to produce. Occupation: Deliver babies literally!
ReplyDeleteBOLEH! BOLEH! NAK! NAK!!!!!!!
ReplyDeleteok lah maybe not exactly "paid mother". more like contributions to make things easier. hey, if they can give the guys tax rebates of up to $3000 for being NSFs, why not take that $3000 and give it to the mothers?
ReplyDeleteside track baju ilyas so cute..where did u buy it?
ReplyDeletecan you imagine tax for wife is only $2000. its like $166.66 a mth! Hello!!! $166 sebulan cukup ke? maid pun dapat $300/mth min.
ReplyDeleteWatched the news last night? One minister said it is not about the shorter hours or working from home. It is about employers to trust their workers when they need to leave the office (for their children) and that they will finish their work. I scoffed at this because when I asked for time off to go for my KK appointment I was told, next time please get a time when I don't have to miss lessons. I thought that was cold and insensitive remark. I would have done so except that there was no other better timing. remarks like this coming from a gahmen school shows how unsupportive some management are towards mothers and mothers to be.
ReplyDeleteRecently, a colleague had to take no pay leave for 1 week because her mom fell ill and she had no alternative baby sitter for her children. How can she be penalised because of this? There has to be more policies that allows for flexibility in emergency cases. And 2 days paternity leave? (roll eyes).
yeah yeah yeah! nie lah ragam orang yang baru kena bayar tax...hahaha!
ReplyDeleteselalunya kan, family friendly policy ni cuma di atas kertas sahaja. ketua2 di sekolah2 ni ada banyak kuasa (diaorang ni macam King). kalau garmen dah kasi kita off day pu kadang2 mereka memang saja nak buat susah. misalnya, the 3 days paid leave that we can take without giving any reason, some may actually ask for the reason before we can take it, and may not be happy at us for taking it.
ReplyDeleteInah, that's why sometimes its better just to get an MC rather than take time off. I know that we want to teach the kids and not leave them without any lesson for the day, because we care, but the mgt sometimes don't see it that way. So to make life easier, take MC if you cannot get an appointment outside the sch hours.
I hope that they may learn something from the countries they visited and give us free childcare. hopefully it will include childcare fees to homebased babysitters and not just childcare centres!
ReplyDelete1. ilyas is incredibly cute wf all his ketaks!!
ReplyDelete2. a paid sahm? ditto tt!
3. turning to Him is undoubtedly the answer to everythg.
4. yea..the malay local drama has upped its std. segaris sinar is just perfect for us to reminisce our gd old childhood days..
tangan ibu dia baba dia icu dia cik ani dia pun da banyak muscle dah...
ReplyDeletei agree!!
ReplyDeleteand schools should start at 8 or 8.30am...7.30am is cruel don't you think?
and erm...i think weekends should be 3 days long too...amacam?
tinggal kat singapura ni mmg sentiasa mengejar terkejar dan dikejar...
ahaks...it's Ilhan's actually...dia pakai masa dia 5-6 months old. that time the animated movie The Incredibles was playing in the cinemas, so banyaklah merchandise. jadilah Incredible Ilhan...
ReplyDeletesi Ilyas pulak ada bulat sikit, so baru 2 bulan dia dah muat rompers ni...dia baru betul2 The Incredible 'Michelin' Ilyas :P
maybe that's how much we are valued?
ReplyDeletetypical kan? insanely rigid. things look good on paper aje...ask aai how her boss began hounding her over the phone barely a week after hamza was born. siao.
ReplyDeleteni ha...veteran kasi tip....:)
ReplyDeletetrue! in perth home-based babysitters are actually licensed, and parents get subsidies for sending their kids to home-based sitters too. unfair isn't it, if we get subsidies only for formal childcare centres.
ReplyDeleteactually schools can start later, up to the P. My previous sch and akmal's sch starts at 8. 30 minutes makes a lot of difference between rushing and taking your time!
ReplyDeletepathetic kan...then kita pun tak dapat incentives or subsidies or Holidays or MC or maternity leave or bonus..well bonus and pay depends on the hubby lah kan tapi kalau hubby tak dapat extra2 hw can we have some too? And we are the COE of the household...with no pay. Org lain every year naik gaji, kita tambah kerja aje. Heheheh Takpe gaji kita is accumulating right now...definitely, insya-allah, hopefully much much more.
ReplyDeleteI WANT A MORE FAMILY-FRIENDLY SOCIETY AND COUNTRY!!!
ReplyDeletewahhhh....nampaknya isu ni hangat betul dengan mak-mak di sini...and tina...u should join their feedback group or something eh?:p
ReplyDeleteeeva...8am makes a lot of difference btw having brekfast or not too! 7.30 kelam kabut nak minum milo pun tak sempat. between sleeping for another 10min and having brekkie, i'd rather sleep!
Assalamualaikum, omg...your boy has grown up, you've popped out a baby and you're back in Singapore. I'm a sucky friend!! Call me, lets catch up girly. :) I want to see this new man in your life!!! Wait, you don't have my number, that's a good start...aiyah...haha...email me you number can? I want to catch some of that baby dust please!
ReplyDeleteyes...keep on asking ham where to go...tapi asal duk depan pc je aku login multiply n facebook dulu lepas tu kelam kabut nak buat chores and other miscellanous....lol
ReplyDeletei will do it....tonight?
tina...hahaha...focus, woman..focus! try the feedback unit at http://app.reach.gov.sg/reach/default.aspx dan luahkanlah perasaan yang terpendam tu :P
ReplyDeletesurayaaaaaaaa!!!! waalaikumsalam! and gosh its been so long! i wanted to go for one of your yummy baking class but then i was waddling and then i gave birth. soon ok soon! i'll pm you :P
ReplyDeletethe paid stay at home mum seems such a far fetched idea for us here ida.. but one can still hope... mak usu will be in jb 9-10 th august ni... insyallah.. do come over la .... boleh dembong dembong si ilyas tu....and hamza too we hope.... p/s beri makan beras apa si ilyas tu? hehehe
ReplyDeleteberas gajah! hahahahahhahah!
ReplyDeleteSusu Cap Ibu! hee hee!
ReplyDeleteI am seeing the benefits of having schools commencing at 8.30am...Dulu, I leave the home pun my hubby and Maryam tak prasan. The little one's sound asleep and the big one tengah solat subuh. At least now, we have breakfast everyday together, without fail.
ReplyDeleteWe are yet to get our PR, Medicare benefits and childcare benefits...but so far, I think....nope, in fact I'm pretty sure, I've made the right move. Weekends are truly weekends except for the toilets that need some brushing, it's total recharge time. Entah, now pun I dah tak rindu Singapore lagi...not even the food!
Oh my gawd, Cake...your junior makan apa ah? Badan berketak-ketak....kalau I kat Singapore, memang dah kena kidnap!
ReplyDeletei just went in and browse thru the forum...I TAKUT! I think there has been many talks tt falls to deaf ears. Whats more to say...maybe I'll just blog my own thots in my multiply one day.
ReplyDeleteahaks...Susu Cap Ibu lah cik tanz....:P
ReplyDeletetina...they'll be announcing the perks next month...sama2 lah kita nantikan....
ReplyDelete