Why Singaporeans Delay Having Children, And What Would Change It

Findings show that Singaporeans are delaying family planning. Tell us..what's stopping you from having a kid or more?

Singapore has spent years and a great deal of money trying to persuade people to have more children. We asked our readers what would work, and it isn’t what the incentives are built around.

“What would encourage Singaporeans to have more children?” 1,209 votes

47%: More work-from-home options for mums
36%: Free childcare
12%: More maternity leave
5%: More tax exemptions

Only one in twenty named tax relief, and more than eight in ten named something about time and childcare instead.

That’s worth sitting with. The Baby Bonus, the tax rebates and the reliefs are all cash. What people say they need is the ability to keep working while raising a child.

It isn’t that people don’t want children

“If you can afford it, how many children do you ideally want to have?” 1,119 votes

45%: Two
32%: Three to four
13%: Just one is enough
9%: The more the merrier

Note the framing of the question: if you can afford it. Under that condition, more than three quarters want two or more, and a third want three or four. That isn’t a country that has stopped wanting families. It’s a gap between what people want and what they think they can manage.

What delays it

Money worries

Asked what Singapore parents worry about most, 42% said the cost of everything (1,084 votes). And 37% of couples say they’ve nothing saved for a rainy day.

The cost that bites is rarely the baby itself. It’s the flat, and the childcare, and the assumption that one salary will have to flex.

Housing

The sequence here’s unusual: for many couples, marriage and children wait on a BTO, and a BTO takes years. A queue in the housing system becomes a delay in the family. That’s a structural feature, not a personal choice.

Careers and who pays for them

Two thirds of mothers say they’d give up their career for their children, while half are back at work within six months. The gap is economics, and knowing you may face that gap is itself a reason to wait.

Time

The 47% asking for work-from-home options aren’t asking to work less. They’re asking to be in two places at once, which is what raising a small child while holding a job requires.

Not having found the right person yet

Frequently the real answer, and the least discussed. Waiting for the right partner isn’t a failure of planning.

The one part that doesn’t wait

The uncomfortable half of this: the reasons for delaying are often entirely sound, and fertility doesn’t take them into account.

Fertility declines with age, more noticeably after the mid-thirties, for both partners.
Most pregnancies after 35 are healthy. The category “advanced maternal age” triggers extra monitoring; it isn’t a warning.
If you’re over 35 and have been trying six months without success, see a doctor, rather than the twelve months usually suggested for younger couples.
Egg freezing became available in Singapore for elective use in 2023, for women aged 21 to 37. Something to look into if the delay is likely to be long, though it’s expensive and not a guarantee.

None of this is an argument for having a child before you’re ready. It’s an argument for knowing the timeline you’re working inside, and for getting a fertility check sooner if the plan is to wait.

If you’re deciding

Separate “not yet” from “not until everything is ready.” Everything is never ready. Some conditions are real prerequisites; some are anxiety wearing a spreadsheet.
Work out the real numbers, not the imagined ones. A subsidised delivery, Baby Bonus and the CDA change the arithmetic a great deal, and most people over-estimate the first year.
Talk about who steps back before it happens, not after. It’s the conversation most couples skip, and the one that determines most of the strain.
Start folic acid before, not after. If a pregnancy is anywhere on the horizon, that’s the one thing to do early.

Frequently asked questions

What would encourage Singaporeans to have more children?

Time and childcare, not cash. Of 1,209 readers, 47% named more work-from-home options and 36% free childcare, against 12% for more maternity leave and just 5% for tax exemptions. More than eight in ten pointed at flexibility and care, not money.

Do Singaporeans still want children?

Asked how many they’d ideally want if they could afford it, 45% said two and 32% said three or four: more than three quarters wanting two or more. The gap is between what people want and what they believe they can manage.

What are the main reasons couples delay having children?

Cost of living, which 42% of parents name as their biggest worry; housing, since for many couples children wait on a BTO and a BTO takes years; the career cost, which falls mostly on mothers; time; and, frequently, simply not having met the right person yet.

Is it too late to have a baby after 35?

No. Fertility does decline with age and the decline steepens after the mid-thirties, but the great majority of pregnancies after 35 are healthy. If you’re over 35 and have been trying for six months without success, see a doctor instead of waiting the twelve months usually suggested for younger couples.

Should I consider egg freezing?

It’s been available in Singapore for elective use since 2023, for women aged 21 to 37. Look into it if you expect a long delay, but it’s expensive and it isn’t a guarantee. A conversation with a doctor about your own fertility is the sensible first step.

What our readers are telling us

People here still want two or more children. What stops them is the cost of a flat, the cost of childcare, and the certainty that someone’s career takes the hit.

Only 5% said tax breaks would change their mind. Nearly half said working from home would. That gap is the whole story.

And if you’re waiting for good reasons, know the biological timeline you’re waiting inside, and take the folic acid before, not after.