PARENTS who think their parental duty ends with their child turning 21 now have to think again.
Bringing up baby has just gotten more complicated. Now, this includes ensuring that baby, when grown, has his or her own babies too.
In his National Day Rally speech on Sunday night, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong urged parents to get into the act, too, in helping their children tie the knot.
They can take the lead and play matchmaker, he said.
Maybe the People’s Association, a government body that promotes social cohesion and racial harmony, can facilitate this, he suggested.
Can Singapore’s mums and dads morph into modern-day matchmakers?
Maybe. But their children may not like the intrusion or have other ideas.
As Mr Lee put it, marriage is a private matter and most young people would not want parental intervention.
Especially if it is advocated by a state already perceived as paternalistic.
Heckles are bound to rise. Already, one comment I have heard goes as such: "This is just one area of people’s lives that the state shouldn’t get involved in."
But what’s a Government rightfully concerned about Singapore’s falling birth rate to do?
It has taken the first step: Planting the thought in the minds of parents.
The next step should be to leave them alone and let the parties work their own way through. No new Government programme please - unless there is an overwhelming request for one, of course.
Instead, the state’s role can just be to subtly remind parents to keep their eyes peeled for suitable men and women for their single children, from time to time.
They can also highlight how parents in other societies do this, to give parents here some ideas. And tell their children that parental intervention isn’t exclusive to Confucian societies.
A New York Times article published two years ago reported that American parents were turning to family friends, golf buddies and the Internet to help find suitable partners for their children.
And finally, lose the "matchmaker term". It just sounds too archaic. How about "fixer-upper"? Suggestions are welcome.