Unfair to subsidise childcare for mums who opt not to work

I refer to this week’s Talking Point, “What’s a stay-at-home mum worth?”

If one is a stay-at-home mother by choice and not because one has a child with special needs or old folks to care for, and if the spouse earns an above-average income, it is unfair to expect subsidised childcare.

Also, Central Provident Fund top-ups should be done by the spouse and not others. Before committing to be a stay-at-home mother, one should have given it careful consideration.

I was surprised to hear of a stay-at-home mother whose husband does not have a big income sending her sole, healthy child to a childcare centre, instead of a kindergarten, and expecting a subsidy for the full-day programme.

The Government should consider carefully before providing any such subsidy.