Survey Results

 Mrs Miranda, 65
Working partime
Are you married?
"Yes."
How many children do you have?
"2."
"There was no choice, I'm married. However as a catholic, I believe children are gifts from God. If he gives them to you there must be some reason why. After all, many people around the world actually want to have their own children but cannot. So its really up to God to decide."

Why do you think some Singaporeans are not having children nowadays?
"Having children is actually not easy at all for me. It requires a lot of commitment and sacrifices. You must find the time to spend with them despite having a busy and tiring day at work. And you also have to work very hard to support them. I think these are the reasons why most people do not wan to have children now.''

Lets say if you could have children again will you? And if, how many?
"Let's say if I could have children again, I will think twice again. Maybe just 1."



Ms Pauline, 58
Traveling agent
Are you married?
"No I'm not."

Why do you think some Singaporeans are not having children nowadays?
"I think its because Singaporeans are very hardworking. They are looking out for new jobs and also want to focus on their jobs and career. Therefore, when they get old and have not found their companion yet and start thinking about having children, it is too late."

Was that what happened to you?
''Yes.''

Lets say if you could have children, will you? And if, how many?
''Yes I would. 1.''

Mrs Fernandez, 47
Housewife

Are you married?
''Yes.''

How many children do you have?
''3.''

Why did you want to have children?
''To start a family because having a family makes me happy.''

Why do you think some Singaporeans are not having children nowadays?
''Oh because you must spent time time with them and must work very hard earn money to support them.''

Lets say if you had the opportunity now to have children again will you? And if , how many?
''Yes having a family brings me happiness. I would want to have either 4 or 5.''

Mr Tan, 43
Real estate agent

Are you married?
''Yes.''

How many children do you have?
''2.''

Why did you want to have children?
''I wanted to start a family and having children to me is having a complete family. I also wanted to teach and raise them up myself as they are from my own flesh and blood.''

Why do you think some Singaporeans are not having children nowadays?
''I know that raising up children is not easy for me as you need to spend time with them and earning more money to feed them. You know that could be the reason why people decide to have less or not to have any at all. However, I am aware of the sacrifices.''

Lets say if you had the opportunity now to have children again will you? And if , how many?
''Um...No, I think I will stop at 2.''

Mrs Lim, 48
Clinic assistant

Are you married?
''Yes.''

How many children do you have?
''2.''

What is stopping you from having more than 1-2 children?
"Very stressful, because when they misbehave, you have to scold them.''

Why do you think some Singaporeans are not having children nowadays?
"It is very stressful for Singaporeans as the cost of living has gone up and they do not have time for their children. More women are now busy working too."

What can the government do to encourage more singaporeans to have or have more children?
"They should give more incentives."

Lets say if you had the opportunity now to have children again will you? And if , how many?
"If the cost of living is not high and medical and health care is cheaper, I think I would like to have 4 or 5."

Mrs Khoo, 41
Teacher

Are you married?
''Yes.''

How many children do you have?
''2.''

What is stopping you from having more than 1-2 children?
"Hehe... I think I am too old to have children already."

Why do you think some Singaporeans are not having children nowadays?
''The cost of living has really increased and couples also find it very hard to spend time with their family as they are very busy.''

What can the government do to encourage more Singaporeans to have or have more children?
"As read in the news papers, the government is now deciding whether to extent paternally leave to the same amount of time as the maternally leave.''

Lets say if you had the opportunity now to have children again will you? And if , how many?
''I think 3.''

Mr Seah, 32
Teacher

Are you married?
"No, I am single."

Are you planning to get married and have children in the future?
"Erm...No.''

Why do you think some Singaporeans are not having children nowadays?
"Personally for me, I do not really want to have children because I think it is a small burden as it requires alot more time and money and they are also not as obedient as pets. Thats why I only have a dog . I think other people also share the same views as me.Therefore, I will advise you to think again about having children next time."

What can the government do to encourage Singaporeans to have or have more children?
"Maybe give more tax rebates.''

Conclusions

Of the 7 people we interviewed, 5 were married while 2 were single with no intention of ever marrying and having children. Rise in the cost of living and difficulty finding time spend with their children were the most common reasons why Singaporeans decide to have a 1-2 or not to have any children at all. Some said the government should give more incentives and tax rebates to encourage childbearing.

Christopher: I benefited from this project as I learnt how to make a blog and I also got to know the problems the government is facing about low population growth from the public's perspective. I contributed by conducting the survey.

Robert John: I am the leader of this group. I benefited from this project as I now I know the causes and problems of Singapore due to the low birth rate. I contributed by typing out most of the words in our blog. Christopher helped the group out by typing the survey results here in our blog. Hassan did the research using the textbook, the news paper articles and the internet. Most of all, I came out with the word COLBRIS which stands for Cause Of Low Birth Rate In Singapore.

Muhammad: I have learned many intresting facts and skills from this project. Not only did I get the chance to learn about low population growth in a fun and creative way, I also got to interview other people and I got to know the cause of low population growth. I'm very fortunate to have been working with my other groupmates, and I must thank Robert for being a very good leader.

Hassan:I have learnt many things about the main causes of low birth rate.I contributed by doing the research bu surfing the net and using the textbook as a source of information.I also undertand what the goverment is facing now regarding to the low birth rate.This project makes us undeerstand more about this particular topic.I hope we will have more of this.