The push from the top for Singaporeans to have more babies struck a chord with me.
While watching Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong announce the enhanced incentives during his National Day Rally speech, I couldn't help but glance with pride at my two children, aged 15 and 14, who were in the living room with me.
Back in the 1990s when I had my son and daughter, the Government had already started its campaign to encourage more working married women to have babies. But the incentives then were paltry compared to the enhanced Baby Bonus scheme and tax benefits now.
I did not have my kids because of the incentives, although the carrot of a $20,000 tax rebate offered to mothers with two children back then made my decision to have a second child much sweeter.
I'm glad the Government is taking a more holistic approach this time around, as reflected in its offering of not just monetary but non-monetary benefits as well.
If one were to add up how much it costs to have kids, it can be a pretty significant sum. It is no wonder that children are no longer seen as an investment (as was the case in our parents' or grandparents' time) but more as a dis-investment.
Monetary benefits are helpful, but so are other related, non-financial incentives like childcare help and enhanced maternity benefits.
For those women out there who think you don't like children and are fearful you will not make good mothers, let me tell you that I was once like you.
You could say I was not a natural mother. I
never liked children and for the first few years of my marriage, I battled against having babies. To me, they were noisy, costly and a huge responsibility.
My husband was the opposite. He wanted children, and I was touched when he abided by my decision.
So what changed my mind? It was a very basic instinct - fear. Many investors will understand that feeling, particularly during the current gloom in the market. It was a fear of losing out on what you deemed to be yours unless you did something about it now.
Back then, I was working in a marketing consultancy firm and I met an Indonesian businessman who impressed upon me how much his two children meant to him. In his eyes, they were even more precious because of the difficulties he and his wife had to overcome just to conceive them.
Like me, his wife delayed having kids in the first few years of marriage. Then when she finally decided to have them, it took her a full 10 years before she could conceive successfully.
It started me thinking. Well, I didn't want to have kids but what if I were to regret that decision years down the road? A woman's biological clock is irreversible. It would be an irony if I couldn't conceive when I finally did want to have kids.
Fortunately for me, both kids came when I wanted them.
Another contributing factor that reinforced my decision to have children was that I had a mother whom I could count on for help. I was far from being domestic - I couldn't cook to save my life - and I didn't have the confidence that I would do a good job at mothering. Neither did I want to entrust the kids totally to foreign maids.
I am grateful for my mother's help and, these days, she still manages our meals daily and keeps tabs on the kids' school activities.
Though it was fear that prompted me to take the first step, thankfully my maternal instincts took over once the kids arrived. I enjoyed both pregnancies.
As a new parent, I had a steep learning curve. And as most parents will attest, bringing up a child is a journey filled with joy, laughter and tears.
Looking back, having my two kids is one of the best decisions I've ever made simply because they brought new meaning to my life. They changed my perspective, taught me how to really share and are the main reason I save and invest diligently.
I used to save for the sake of saving. With my kids, I have an added purpose to save and invest because knowing that they are well taken care of gives me a sense of well- being.
That is a payoff that goes beyond dollars and cents.
This article was first published in The Straits Times on September 7, 2008.
