The Cost of Raising a Child in Singapore - $350k?

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If you have read the July's issue of Simply Her, you would have come across the article about the cost to raise a child in Singapore. When I read the price tag was $350, I did my usual freaked-out-OMG dance before settling down to read it.

If you read the short article, OCBC conducted a survey that shows in 2004, it will cost $296,000 to raise a child. Now, in 2010 with the 3% inflation rate (and remember, the inflation rate will continue throughout the years), now it will take us $353,439 to raise a child!
Eeeek! The article then went on to offer advice on the types of investments that one can take based on their risk appetites as well as savings allocations. The more I read, the more I felt the words becoming a blur. More like, I want the words to become a blur ...

Chances are, if you belong to the middle-class demongraphics, you are in a position to try to afford the best for your child. This is taking into account of enrichment classes, holidays, insurance, university education, healthcare, overseas education, maids, toys, books....and the list goes on and on and on. If you read the posts pertaining to this forum topic on kiasuparents.com; you will realise that some parents felt that $350k may not even be enough to raise one child.

It's an interesting thought for one will feel overwhelmed when face with such a figure and perhaps the ones who feel this are those who are in a position that can afford it - if they are able to figure out the appropriate investments to make. But how about those families who are below this particular class? Chances are, they may not even come across this article as they are already struggling to make ends meet and will not even spend / be able to spend this amount to raise a child.  Will the child know and appreciate the value of money if the parents are the only ones saving and spending? Will the child from lesser well-off families be of lesser value than those from the middle-class ones?

Is it a $350k question or a Values question?
Seriously, I am not the best person to answer the question - simply because I have not start to raise one yet (though it's coming soon). Yet I do know that just buying stuff for the baby is using up a bit of money even though we do have some contributions from family and friends. Truth be told, there are items I know that are not necessary. For example, the sterilizer for milk bottles can be cleansed the old-fashioned way - hot water, a scrub and soap. And yet I can afford to pay for the convenience a sterilizer brings (even though I'm grumbling about the cost).

When I read the posts as posted by some parents in the forum, it is heartening to know that there are some parents who have not lost sight of what they expect from their children. It's not about the money. It's how you choose to spend and save the money to pull yourself and your family through. Not all of us are born rich and yet some of the most inspiring people are those who come from families who have to learn the value of money the hard way.  The values I hope to impart to the child is something that can be read off the MOE Character Development chart . Resilient, Innovative, Enterprising, Independent, Ability to Empathise and View from other perspectives. Yet many schools and parents, I believe, are doing whatever they can to try to incorporate all these qualities into the students and their children. Some have succeed. Some not. Why is that so?

I believe every experience is a teachable moment. A child, whether they are in Secondary or in Kindergarten or just babbling their first words, will need to go through experiences to fully gasp the meaning of the lessons. That is why Experiential Learning is often a strong focus but not many of us have the materials, expertise or timing to pull it off successfully.

(Now I like to stress that all of us have different parenting styles and to each her own. It's just that as an educator I have experienced and constantly tweak my beliefs and methods to adopt for my own parenting style.) For this case, it is quite obvious that the common theme is money. Yet, I will not just want to nag at the child and show him or her all my receipts that I kept from her first check-up just to remind her how much I am spending on her. I would show her those which I feel is vital for her to understand such as schoolbooks, education...instead of just verbalising for it's one ear in and one ear oout. Rather, I would like to teach her financial independence and the value of money even when she is just three years old. Let her make choices between toys, or let her learn counting (mathematics). When she's older, question her between needs and wants. Do not give in to her every whim and fancy for this will only propagate instant gratification (which is the biggest bane of our society now), manipulation (if I do this behaviour, I will get this reaction from this person) and even wrong imprints of lessons that will be harder to erase later on (so therefore if I want more attention, I should do this to get it from more people!) . There is also no point nagging about the same thing: I realise that when I taught my students. Now I will just point out the consequences and when things happen, I usually just question their choices and if they are happy with the end results. If not, what could they have done to make things better.


There are Others who feel that Singapore is Cheaper to Raise a Child

It could be that foreigners who are living elsewhere will feel a bigger pinch as they are the most familiar with the prices in the hometowns. Singaporeans, living in Singapore, will always be used to the prices that are stamped on us. Now, with Singapore becoming a reputable education hub with a well-known strong and efficient government; it's mainly just economics: Choose the option that provides the most benefits at the lowest cost. In the UK, it costs about 200,000 pounds (S$436,000) and in the US, it costs US$291,570 (S$417,994). So perhaps it's not surprising when an article of such nature appears below:

S'pore is 4th cheapest place to raise expat kids

40% of foreigners polled say it is cheaper here. -ST
Sat, Oct 11, 2008
The Straits Times

A GLOBAL survey has found Singapore to be among the countries where it is cheapest for expatriates to raise their children. Singapore emerged fourth cheapest, after Spain, India and China, in a survey by HSBC Bank International of 870 expatriate parents across 14 places. In the poll, the cost of raising a child included - but was not restricted to - the cost of education.

Almost four in 10 of those in Singapore who were polled said it was cheaper raising junior here than in their home countries.Another 25 per cent said the cost was 'about the same'.

At the other end of the spectrum, Britain, the United Arab Emirates and Hong Kong are the most expensive places to raise children.

Responses from the Singapore Expats Forum seem to echo the same view:

"I've been told rearing young children is cheaper in SIngapore than anywhere in the Western world. This is because of the cheap maid rates. They look after the kids for you & cook & clean if you want them to for less that $1K a month (so I've heard). Back home in Australia my relatives were paying about $20/hour for a babysitter."

"Preschools are from 3 years of age & cost about $30/day in Australia. In Singapore the Australian School is S1365 for 2 days/week/term (10wks). This is more than double the price & does not include building funds of S460/term, uniforms & everything else I've missed."

Although I do not have a child yet, I can foresee what is coming. Chances are I will still take the necessary insurance and try to read up about investments to secure my child's future. But no doubt that money education is equally important for the child to learn about independence and self-efficacy without blaming his/her parents for trying to make his/her life a little harder. After all, the skills they picked up during this 'hardship' is worth much more than gold in terms of character and strength.