I believe that any couple would do their sums before the wife decides to quit her job to be a stay-at-home mother.
It is sad, therefore, that in “Nothing for stay-at-home mothers in govt Budgets” (March 10), the writer blames the Government and society for not getting a fair deal for her efforts to raise her child. The Government and society do not owe stay-at-home mothers for this free, personal choice in raising their children.
Perhaps, instead of lamenting that the annual Budgets offer nothing concrete for stay-at-home mothers, the writer should have a glimpse of the challenges widows have faced.
In 1973, my father died from a stroke. He had no savings and, overnight, my mother found herself with the daunting task of raising six children, the youngest being seven years old. She wiped away all her tears and, being a good cook, set up a wanton noodle stall. She did well, putting all my siblings and me through school.
A decade later, a competitor forced my mother to switch to making “chwee kueh” (rice cake), which she had no experience in, but through trial and error, she succeeded at last in selling commercially.
There were many pioneer generation widows, like my late mother, who faced many challenges. There was no government and social help rendered to them, nor from their relatives, who were poor themselves, and no guarantee their children would complete their education.
In our midst today, there are married foreign women who have left their young children in their home countries to work in low-skilled jobs here so that their children can have decent food and go to school.
They cannot be there as their children grow up; they can only pray for their children and have faith. The letter writer is hundredfold blessed to have her husband’s appreciation.
The Government should instead lend support to the widowed with young children and to the fatherless among us today.
It is sad, therefore, that in “Nothing for stay-at-home mothers in govt Budgets” (March 10), the writer blames the Government and society for not getting a fair deal for her efforts to raise her child. The Government and society do not owe stay-at-home mothers for this free, personal choice in raising their children.
Perhaps, instead of lamenting that the annual Budgets offer nothing concrete for stay-at-home mothers, the writer should have a glimpse of the challenges widows have faced.
In 1973, my father died from a stroke. He had no savings and, overnight, my mother found herself with the daunting task of raising six children, the youngest being seven years old. She wiped away all her tears and, being a good cook, set up a wanton noodle stall. She did well, putting all my siblings and me through school.
A decade later, a competitor forced my mother to switch to making “chwee kueh” (rice cake), which she had no experience in, but through trial and error, she succeeded at last in selling commercially.
There were many pioneer generation widows, like my late mother, who faced many challenges. There was no government and social help rendered to them, nor from their relatives, who were poor themselves, and no guarantee their children would complete their education.
In our midst today, there are married foreign women who have left their young children in their home countries to work in low-skilled jobs here so that their children can have decent food and go to school.
They cannot be there as their children grow up; they can only pray for their children and have faith. The letter writer is hundredfold blessed to have her husband’s appreciation.
The Government should instead lend support to the widowed with young children and to the fatherless among us today.
