TODAYonline

A family-friendly city? There’s still room for improvement

Lin Yanqin

yanqin@mediacorp.com.sg

THE latest Marriage and Parenthood package to boost the birth rate might address some of the concerns couples have. But a survey by Ngee Ann Polytechnic (NP) before the announcement, shows that other issues may still linger.

For instance, nearly half the 180 parents polled said they were not familiar with childcare subsidies, when more than half sent or intended to send their children to childcare centres.

This surprised Ms Joanne Lim, a third-year student in Early Childhood Education at NP and one of the team leaders of the survey, whose aim was to determine whether parents found Singapore a family-friendly city.

“The comments from parents were like, ‘Teachers in childcare don’t really mention the available subsidies’,” said Ms Lim. “I think more should be done to encourage them to inform parents, because the money could come in really useful, especially for low-income parents.”

Typically, childcare centres help parents apply for Government subsidies. The survey did not indicate what percentage of respondents received these benefits.

Some parents also suggested matching the amount of subsidies to income, as they felt lower-income families should receive more help.

Public transport was also found to be inconvenient for families with strollers or prams, with 85 per cent rating it a problem.

“If you have young children, and you’re carrying things such as groceries, it’s just not convenient for these families,” saidMs Lim. “Moreover, about 67 per cent also found public transport expensive. Nearly all would support concessions for families taking public transport together.”

On the upside, 88 per cent said there were child-minding and educational facilities near their homes, while 12 per cent had facilities at work where their children could be near them.

“This shows that child-minding and educational services are fairly accessible and convenient,” said Ms Lim.

But while those polled were overwhelmingly in favour of flexible working arrangements (91 per cent), only seven of 170 of the parents reported having flexible working hours. Also, some 60 per cent indicated they were not allowed to take their work home.

“Some do recognise that it’s hard to have flexible work arrangements, such as those who do shifts in factories,” she said. “It’s kind of sad that there are some who earn a living through jobs that are not so accommodating, especially when so many feel flexi-time is beneficial.”

The respondents also pointed out that some social policies did not address concerns like long working hours, the high cost of living and the lack of extended paternity leave.

Mrs Choo Cheh Hoon, director of the School of Humanities at NP, felt that the survey — while covering a small sample — accurately reflected some of the commonly-held sentiments of parents.

“Hopefully, it brings some attention to areas that can be better addressed,”she said.