Childcare subsidies for stay-home moms, more maternity leave among proposals to support families

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SINGAPORE - More government-paid childcare leave, extending childcare subsidies to stay-at-home mothers and increasing maternity leave to six months were part of a raft of measures proposed by Elysa Chen (Bishan-Toa Payoh GRC) to make it easier for Singaporeans to start and raise families.

Speaking during an adjournment motion in Parliament on Aug 5, she also called for employees to be allowed to use their own sick leave to care for sick children or elderly parents. She asked for structured postpartum home visits and for improved access to pre-school places, particularly in areas with higher demand.

Replying to Chen, Minister in the Prime Minister’s Office Indranee Rajah said the Marriage and Parenthood Reset Workgroup is considering some of her suggestions. Indranee chairs the workgroup, which will produce a full report with its findings in early 2027.

The workgroup is developing a long-term roadmap to strengthen support for marriage and parenthood, mobilise action across society and support a broader societal reset, she added.

Recently released statistics on marriage and parenthood have also sharpened the workgroup’s urgency to act, she said. In 2025, there were about 24,700 marriages, a 6.2 per cent drop from 2024. Singapore also recorded 26,100 citizen births in 2025, a 10.8 per cent decrease from 2024.

In her speech, Chen said Singapore needs to move beyond financial incentives to tackle structural challenges that young couples and parents face, across four areas: time, care, work and housing.

Chen said the current annual childcare leave entitlement is often insufficient for parents caring for young children. Those with children aged 0 to 7 are currently entitled to six days of leave, while those with children aged 8 to 12 have two days of leave.

“Children frequently require checkups, and may experience extended bouts of illness,” she said.

“If just one child catches hand, foot and mouth disease, how will families cope?”

Indranee said parental leave provisions have recently been enhanced and working parents now have a total of 30 weeks to care for their infants.

“We are actively working on how we can provide more protected time for working parents, while managing the impact on business operations,” she added.

To structurally mandate “breathing space” for young people to socialise and date, as well as to spend quality time with family, Chen also proposed that the statutory minimum annual leave be increased. Under the Employment Act, it is currently seven days.

The MP also called for childcare subsidies to be made universal, regardless of whether a mother is employed.

Currently, higher-tier basic infant care and childcare subsidies are available only to a working main applicant, typically a mother who works at least 56 hours a month.

Chen said this puts stay-at-home mothers and those with non-traditional work arrangements, such as freelancers, at a disadvantage.

At a recent PAP Women’s Wing engagement session, Chen said one mother had asked: “Why is unpaid caregiving at home less valuable than the contributions of a working mum?”

She added that maternity leave must be restructured to make business sense for employers.

She said employers struggle to hire maternity cover for 16 weeks, and mothers feel pressured to return to work when they may not be ready, in order to keep their jobs.

She proposed extending maternity leave to six months, fully funded by the Government up to a salary cap, with an optional additional 6 months at half-pay, also government-funded up to a cap.

To improve pre-school access, Chen suggested providing limited subsidies for under-utilised childcare operators to run shuttle services to neighbourhoods where demand is high, similar to school bus services.

“This helps reduce geographic friction, improves spatial mobility, and achieves better allocative efficiency for childcare services,” she added.

She also called for better postpartum support by introducing structured home visits during a child’s first year. Trained maternity nurses could provide guidance on newborn care, breastfeeding, physiotherapy and mental health, while identifying families who might require additional social or financial support.

“If new parents are well supported in this regard, they will feel more confident in subsequently having more children,” she said.

Fathers should be actively involved in these visits, she added, so they could develop practical caregiving skills and recognise signs of postnatal depression in both their spouses and themselves.

“Let’s equip fathers to be confident co-parents rather than well-meaning ‘helpers’, so we can build the equal parenting that I hope will one day be the norm in every Singaporean family.”

In response, Indranee said the workgroup will study Chen’s suggestions on postpartum support.

To help women who marry later in life still have a chance at having a child, Chen called for the Government to consider partially subsidising elective egg freezing or allowing Medisave to be used for it.

Indranee said the workgroup will review this suggestion and consider ways to reduce the cost of fertility tests and treatment.

To support caregiving needs, Chen suggested a transport care credit scheme for lower-income and lower-middle-income families. The credits could be used for public transport, taxis, private-hire vehicles and car-sharing services for trips such as hospital visits, therapy sessions and medical appointments.

“The proposed grant will address the “last mile” problem for individuals and caregivers who need non-standard public transport options for themselves or frail or young dependents but don’t qualify for existing disability-specific work schemes.”

Singapore’s low birth rate cannot be addressed through cash incentives alone, Chen said.

“We have built world-class infrastructure for economic productivity, and ingrained in ourselves a hardworking work culture. But we may not have built the equivalent infrastructure, nor inculcated the same priorities for family life,” she said.

Indranee said the workgroup will continue to engage widely across society in the coming months and invited all Singaporeans to contribute their ideas.