Gals, whahahah i wonder if the netizer refer to us who find those MTB too much lol~
Aug 22, 2008
Just when she was getting grumpy
By Aaron Low
WE HUSBANDS know better than to cross our wives, especially when they are carrying our offspring.
Woe betide the man who thinks he can get away by ignoring his wife's hints at wanting to eat chilli crab at 2am. Nope, you just do it.
It was with the same dread I felt when my wife found out that the Enhanced Marriage and Parenthood Package announced by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong would not apply to our baby but mostly only to children born from Jan 1 next year.
'Many pregnant women will be upset,' she said simply, eyes flashing.
For a brief moment, I felt a pang of sympathy for the Government, for what was about to come.
Indeed, just hours after the bad news broke, she told me that many of the women who participate in the online forums she reads had been threatening to march to their MPs, bellies and all, to demand answers.
Some even wanted to go to the media with their grouses. Many did, however, sign an online petition to ask PM Lee to reconsider the Government's position.
Think hundreds of pregnant women marching to Parliament holding milk bottles and nappies while pushing strollers with husbands in tow, my wife said.
Some netizens online had chided these mothers for asking for so much. It was not as if they were the target of the Government's policies, they had reasoned.
So why should mothers who are already pregnant feel hard done by?
As a young and first-time parent, I can perhaps understand why so many were upset with the decision.
Being young parents is not easy. We have to deal with financial uncertainties, give up our current lifestyles and even face raised eyebrows from our peers, some of whom think we are too young to be parents.
But while the extra financial help will be handy, the additional month of maternity leave is a godsend.
To watch our baby's small toes and fine hair grow, observe how her personality develops and see her gradually respond to us as parents is invaluable.
Having been told that we will get all this had lifted our spirits. Then to be told the following day that we were not eligible for the package because someone had decided it was only for babies born from a certain date onwards - that was crushing.
So, last night, when I heard that the Government had reconsidered its position and would bring forward the eligibility date for the enhanced package from Jan 1 next year to Aug 17 this year, I was both overjoyed and relieved.
Overjoyed because my baby would have her mother around for longer. Relieved because at least for tonight, I would not have to face a grumpy wife.
