About Fertility Rate

Mr Goh said:

"Those who can't afford to have children never had problems over affordability. They just have more children. And those who can afford, in fact, do not have more than one or two or so. So there's that contradiction over there, which suggests that having children in fact is a rather complex issue."

Source

Mr Goh hits the nail on the head, don't you think?

Only that it's actually not that complicated, I think. Some of my co-workers and I used to think aloud: how come our mothers and grandmothers can have so many children - my grandmother has eight - yet never complain about affordability? The answer is obvious: With the change of time, most people simply have a change of priority, with more focus on career, and I think more importantly, a higher expectation of lifestyle - those annual overseas family holidays, condominium, car and maid - no wonder we are facing falling birth rate. Apart, perhaps, from the fact that people in those days were not so well informed about contraception, and there was the defunct belief that having as many children as possible was a sign of a blessed marriage. Having said that, the solution, if any, is by no means an easy one, which is perhaps what Mr Goh is implying.