After National Day Rally 2026, Everyone Is Asking If I Will Have a Third Child. Here Is My Honest Answer.

Has anyone asked you yet?

Since the National Day Rally last week, I have had a few people half joking and half genuinely curious: "So now that there is $70,000 per child, are you going to have a third?"

My daughter is seven, and my son is four. And my answer to that question has been clear for a while now.

It is still no, and here are my reasons why.

What was actually announced

If you missed it, here is the quick version.

The government replaced the old Baby Bonus with a new SG Child Support Package. Every Singapore Citizen child born from April 2027 will be entitled to roughly $70,000 in total support from birth to age 17. That includes a $10,000 Baby Gift paid out in the first year, $2,000 in Child Credits annually from ages one to sixteen, and a $10,000 top-up to the Post-Secondary Education Account when they turn seventeen.

Childcare leave is also getting a real upgrade. Instead of the flat rate we had before, it will now be tiered based on how many children you have. One child means eight days per working parent per year. Two children means ten days. Three or more means twelve. And the government will now cover the full cost of that leave, so employers have far less reason to push back when you actually need to take it.

On top of all that, full-day childcare fees are being brought down to $150 a month and infant care to $300 a month by 2030. Less than half of what families pay today - which honestly, is amazing.

It is a meaningful package, and I think the government is going in the right direction!

And yet, my answer is still no

Not a hesitant no, not a "let me think harder" no. A clear, settled, already-processed no.

When our second arrived, everything doubled. The planning, the coordinating, the emotional bandwidth, the number of people wanting a piece of me at any given moment. By the second child you do already have the practical skills, so that part genuinely gets easier.

But the practical stuff was never the hard part for me.

The hard part is that with two kids, my presence gets split. There is only one of me at bedtime, and two children who both want to tell me about their day. A third would not just add to that load, it would split me thinner than I think I can stretch and still be the kind of parent I actually want to be.

I don't think I want to go through the process... again!

Also, If we had a third, I would have to physically carry that child for nine months again. And that is something I am not looking forward to at all.

My first pregnancy was smooth. The postpartum was not. My second pregnancy was hard. The postpartum was also not great.

So when I think about going through all of that again, my body answers before my brain finishes the question, haha.

And yes, more childcare leave is genuinely helpful once the baby is here. But, it does nothing for what it costs you to get there.

And honestly, I only just found myself again

I think this is the part that makes the decision feel truly final for me.

It has only been in the 1-2 years or so that I actually feel like myself again outside of being a mum. After seven years of being deep inside it, of running on fumes and goodwill and sheer determination, I am only now coming back up for air.

If we did it all again, I know exactly what would happen. More years of going back under. more of myself poured into a new person who needs everything, right at the moment I have finally reclaimed something.

Some people will read that and think it sounds selfish, and yes maybe it is a little. But it is what is true for me at this stage, and pretending otherwise would not make me a better mother to my two.

My kids are older and getting more independent, which is honestly beautiful to watch. And I have decided that the next chapter for me includes growing Toshi and putting more energy back into myself.

There is no right answer here

I want to say this clearly, because this is a topic that makes people feel judged no matter which side they land on.

Plenty of parents genuinely feel they can balance more, they are happy with how their family is growing, and that is completely valid. This is not me saying my answer is the correct one.

But if you are still sitting with the question yourself, especially now that NDR 2026 has put it back in everyone's heads, here are the honest questions worth sitting with:

1. Would a third child change the kind of parent you are able to be for the ones you already have?

2. Are you ready to go through the physical process again?

3. Is your partner actually in the same place as you?

The extra financial support is real. The extra leave days are real. But the $70,000 is not going to change what is true in your gut.

If you are done, like me, you are allowed to be done. 💛

I would genuinely love to know where you are landing after all of this. Are the NDR 2026 measures actually moving the needle for you, or does your answer stay the same regardless?

If you would like to hear the full discussion I had with my co-founder, Mervyn, You can watch the full conversation on YouTube:

And if your days feel like they are running you rather than the other way around, that is the exact problem we built Toshi to solve.

Check us out at heytoshi.com.