For the Jubilee baby

 
What five items would you pick for the Jubilee Baby Gift pack for Singaporean children born in 2015, and why?

PERSONALLY, I’m not in favour of Singapore spending huge sums of money for the Jubilee Baby Gift pack, as I feel such resources could be put to better uses such as alleviating the financial burden of the underprivileged and low-income families in our society. However, if such a gift pack needs to be created and given out, it should not only be commemorative but very practical too, in the hope that it may help boost Singapore’s fertility rate, which was 1.19 last year, below the replacement rate of 2.1. For example, babies born in 2015 could be entitled to much higher subsidies for childcare fees, a bigger ”Baby Bonus”, and perhaps even a special bonus every five years until age 20, to be paid directly into the child’s CPF Ordinary or Medisave account for future medical and retirement needs. The gift pack could also contain a booklet of vouchers that offer significant savings for parents in the purchase of necessities such as milk powder, diapers and other needful paraphernalia such as baby cots and prams. As for commemorative gifts, perhaps each baby could receive a cast of the baby’s footprint along with a certificate or plaque with a special inscription and serial number to mark his or her place in history.

Ronald Lee
Managing Director
PrimeStaff Management Services Pte Ltd