Mr Wang's Baby No. 3

Well, not exactly. This is Mr Wang's Baby No. 2, and it's an old photo - she's grown up quite a lot since then. Now she's running, climbing and talking ... a lot.

I decided to post this little baby photo, because my wife and I have recently been talking about the possibility of having another little baby. No, we have not actually decided. We're just discussing.

The discussion is important, because either way, this should be a deliberate, considered decision. I think that very often, many Singaporeans don't realise that not having a child is a decision as much as having a child.

I make this point, because I've just read Kitana's post entitled "Why Should Singaporeans Have Kids?". Kitana has heard all the usual reasons why Singaporeans don't want kids, and now she's trying to figure out the other side of the story - why Singaporeans should have kids.

In real life, I think that many Singaporeans fail to give the matter much thought, until it's too late. The matter is what Stephen Covey would call a 2nd Quadrant matter - it's important, but not urgent. All too often, human nature is to neglect tasks that are important, but not urgent.

Right now, you and your spouse are busy - with this, and that, and this. What about kids? Well, well, that's possible, but let's think about it later. Maybe next year. Next year comes around, and once again you're busy. Umm, this baby stuff is not urgent, let's think about it another time.

Well, unfortunately, Mother Nature doesn't give you forever to think about it. Wait too long, and you may never get another chance - as these Singaporeans are discovering. There's a very strong correlation between infertility and the woman's age; this is a well-known fact that non-doctors (that is, most of us) often fail to appreciate.

Note - Mr Wang isn't saying that you should rush off and have a kid now. Mr Wang is saying that there's a natural time bar for such decisions. If you want kids, then choose when. If you don't want kids, then let that be your considered decision. And be aware that there may be no turning back.

Don't just keep taking a wishy-washy, we'll-think-about-it-later attitude. Before you know, you may hit the age when the ovaries won't stick and the sperm cells start swimming funny. No, IVF does not work all the time - far from it.