articles catalogue

How “Helicopter Parenting” Harms Children, and the Culture 

Eyes on the Price: A Cultivate Commune (March) update 

eyes on the price text
The more people prize parenthood, the less deterred they are by its perceived price. The reverse is also true. These were the findings from our “Eyes on the Price” supplementary analysis released at our Commune on 28 March. With our society becoming more atomised and narratives thinking of children as a burden, can we refocus our values and priorities as a society?

Even in Old Age, Marriage Matters 

old asian married couple with their foreheads touching
As the foundation of family life, the benefits of marriage for children are well-known. But what about the elderly? Elderly who never married or are divorced or separated tend to have weaker intergenerational connections, being less likely to provide and receive support from their families. In “super-aged” Singapore, strengthening marriages must be a key priority, even as we look out for vulnerable seniors.

Sandwiched Families: Too Many Ways to Make a “Sandwich”?  

sandwiched family singapore
Conceptually, there is no one definition of a “sandwiched” family, ranging from those who live together or nearby, to different kinds of support or care provided to young and old. A reasonable estimate suggests there are more than 100,000 sandwiched households in Singapore. Perhaps valuing and supporting people in their caregiving journeys may be a more constructive way forward.

More For You

Singapore Child Abuse Cases

Fatal Child Abuse of Megan Khung: Can we do better? 

Every child abused is one child too many. In this process of soul-searching and learning to do better in our protection of children following the death of Megan Khung, it would help to reduce the level of blame levelled at the preschool and social service agency involved. Furthermore, we should also appreciate her grandmother’s dilemmas in her response, and the wider ecosystem surrounding the incident which involved drugs and family breakdown.
Singapore Cultivate Commune Family

“Porn: What’s the Harm?”: A Cultivate Commune update

Early exposure as teenagers, double lives, impaired relationships and bumpy healing journeys: these stories marked Cultivate’s first breakfast conversation this year, on a thoroughly un-breakfast topic – Pornography. Our conversation featured Jeffrey Pang, a counsellor who handles porn addiction cases, and Jakin Tan, a university undergraduate who overcame the addiction. It was moderated by Cultivate Chairperson, Ariel Lim, with her own story of breakthrough.
Large Families Singapore

Budget 2025 (Part 3 of 3): Systemic and Structural Changes to Help Large Families

In the last of our three-part series on the Large Families Scheme announced in Budget 2025, we look at how large families may be better supported in their journeys, in a more systemic and structural manner. Such changes include transport, COE, housing, tax reliefs and more

What we are reading

Articles here are for perspective and may not represent our views