CRECHES (Extension of services)

The following Question stood in the name of Madam Chan Choy Siong ---

Madam Chan Choy Siong: To ask the Minister for Social Affairs whether he will consider extending the services of creches till late evening to enable working women to have more time for participation in community activities.

Mr Speaker: Madam Chan Choy Siong.

Mr Ng Yeow Chong: Question No. 13.

The Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Social Affairs (Mr Chan Chee Seng) (for the Minister for Social Affairs): The creche service has been set up primarily to meet the needs of working women in providing a proper place for the care of their infant children (under six years old) when they are at work. As such, the 10 creches operated by the Social Welfare Department are open from 7 am, to 5 p.m, on weekdays and from 7 am, to 1 p.m, on Saturdays.

Although extending the services of the creches to late evening would help some working women to have more time for participation in community activities, this will definitely not be in the interests of the children themselves. It is a well-known fact that for the proper growth and development of infants, it is essential that they spend as much time as possible with their parents, brothers and sisters from whom they will receive and can express their love and affection. Since under the existing arrangement children attending creches will be away from their homes for as much as 10 hours a day on weekdays and six hours a day on Saturdays, any extension of these hours to late evening will be undesirable, as it would mean that the children would be spending all their waking hours at the creches, leaving little or no time with their parents and other members of the family.

For the above reasons, the Ministry considers it inadvisable to extend the services of creches beyond the hours as provided at present.