SINGAPORE: Parents in Singapore are urging the Government to consider the lived realities of families before making policies, as Minister in the Prime Minister’s Office Indranee Rajah announced that the workgroup to raise the nation’s birth rate has convened.

The new Marriage & Parenthood (M&P) Reset Workgroup was first announced in February this year after it was revealed that Singapore’s total fertility rate (TFR) plunged to a record low of 0.87 last year, from 0.97 in 2024.

Prime Minister Lawrence Wong tapped Ms Indranee to chair a committee to look at how to address the declining birth rate. It was announced last week that the workgroup will also include eight other political office holders, namely Low Yen Ling, Rahayu Mahzam, Dinesh Vasu Dash, Jasmin Lau, Goh Pei Ming, Zhulkarnain Abdul Rahim, Shawn Huang, and Goh Hanyan.

The National Population and Talent Division (NPTD) has since shared that the workgroup will study the factors influencing marriage and parenthood in Singapore, including financial pressures, housing, caregiving responsibilities, healthcare, preschool and education, as well as work-life support.

The group will also engage employers, businesses, community organisations and Singaporeans to encourage social norms and workplace practices that are more supportive of family life.

Announcing the formation of the workgroup last week, Ms Indranee said the committee aims to build a “long-term roadmap” to ensure a “social reset.” She wrote on Facebook, “…family formation and having more Singaporean babies has become even more important than ever.”

The Minister also called on members of the public to join the effort to raise the birth rate and urged, “We can all play a part in ways that make a real difference — at work, in our families and in our communities. Let’s make this change together!”

Following the announcement, parents across Singapore began sharing candid accounts of the pressures they face while raising children, with many describing exhaustion, financial strain, limited workplace flexibility and a lack of practical support.

Several parents stressed that the issue goes beyond financial incentives and childcare subsidies, arguing that daily realities for working families are often overlooked in policymaking.

One working mother of two said many families are heavily dependent on ageing grandparents for childcare because they have few alternatives. She shared that her own moth...