‘Brangelina and brood’: Singapore’s poster family?

Would the Ministry of Social and Family Development (MSF) consider using celebrity couple Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie and their brood of six – for now – children in a new poster to encourage larger families?

The tagline could read: “The more, the merrier!” (Indeed it is rumoured that Jolie is expecting the couple’s seventh kid.) We need something compelling to replace the catchy “Boy or girl, two is enough” of the 60s and 70s.

The Brangelina clan would be picture perfect for modern Singapore, not just because of our penchant for star-delivered messages, but also for the relevance of what Pitt and Jolie can teach us.

But hold your horses. We may yet change our mind.

The mantra in Singapore has gone from stopping at two, to “have as many as you can”. However, it is important to qualify “can”, whether biologically or affordably. Even as it is said that the stress of modern living has affected the fertility rate adversely, many young couples are concerned about the trade-offs of having more children.

We recall one of the messages put up by the Family Planning and Population Board (PFPB) of yore: “The more you have, the less they get.” While that statement holds factually true today, the message is socially outdated. Those were the days when parents seemed to have accepted as a matter of fate the sacrifices that came with large families; today’s young parents think more of the pursuit of a certain lifestyle.

Affordability is measured in not just pecuniary terms, but in the way we live. More children can mean, for the woman especially, missed opportunities for career advancement; for the parents, less leisure time to pursue personal interests; and for the family, a smaller house or cramped living space, fewer luxuries and overseas trips, and foregoing prestigious club memberships.

Some people will be quick to point out that Singaporeans are not as well-heeled as Pitt and Jolie, who can well afford to expand their brood in every sense of the word. Something drastic has happened along the way to alter our attitudes, though this is inevitable with growing affluence even if the FPPB had not touted: “Small Families – Brighter Future: Two is enough”.

Perhaps the issue is not “can Singaporeans?” but “are Singaporeans willing?”

ADOPT AND LOVE

Pitt and Jolie have three adopted and three biological children. The adopted children were orphans from Cambodia, Ethiopia and Vietnam, and the couple are said to be open to more adoption in future.

Perhaps the MSF could add an alternative message for Singapore: Reproduce or adopt, but love them all the same ...

Pitt and Jolie are always pictured with a happy brood, their arms around the kids or holding their hands. There is no divided attention between biological and adopted. You do not see the parents trotting ahead and their children following behind, in the hands of maids.

You may say that their publicist does an excellent job. Noteworthy of course is Jolie’s active role as Goodwill Ambassador for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees that reflects her passion for humanitarian causes and a disposition to embrace the diversity of her own family.

But is ‘Brangelina and Brood’ really the ideal poster family for Singapore? You can always think up as many reasons why not.

SOCIALLY INAPPROPRIATE

First, Pitt and Jolie are not Singaporeans. Second, they are not officially married to each other, both having failed marriages before hey cohabited; it is not a lifestyle that sits well with our moral and social code.

Third, there is a remote chance that their mini-United Nations family make-up may lead to a debate on immigration policies (although the scales of both issues are different). And fourth, Pitt and Jolie are just too famous to have any secrets about them kept for long. You do not want to be unpleasantly surprised.

Yet there is one clear lesson we can learn, not directly from Pitt and Jolie but from reflecting on the issue. We are in the habit of setting goals and directing our efforts singularly towards achieving them. The ends justify the means, sort of corporate-style.

So the message is: Have more babies. A slew of incentives have been introduced, and there is no reason why the eligible population should not respond positively to take advantage of them. It is time we turn the issue around and ask: Why not? Only then can we better design solutions to the problem.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: David Leo is an author in Singapore.