A Singaporean Dad

What makes a Singaporean Dad?

For one, the rate in which he starts making big decisions about house, career and the future just so that he can get his daughter into the primary school of choice.

I cannot recall any of my Aussie, Kiwi or any daddy friends that I have who are not Singaporeans, or at least not married to a Singaporean, think the same way as we Singaporean Dads do. And I'm pretty sure I'm not alone in this.

You see, my conversation with Daphne over lunch today centred on Maegan's future. We are wondering if we really have to send her to a PAP kindegarten or can we afford to send her to a more renowned one like Julia Gabriels which charges an unbelievable price of $800 per month. That's what I will pay for Maegan for two whole years if she goes to a PAP kindergarten like her old man. A proven brand name that has been in prominence since independence and boast of Singapore's largest alumni. Meet any two friends and chances are that two of you studied in PAP kindergarten.

Knowing that we are probably very capable of affording the best for Maegan, i.e PAP Kindergarten (did I mention that they are a proven brand name and boast of the largest alumni in Singapore?), our discussion moves on to the primary school that she should go.

In Singapore, staying within a 1 or 2 Km radius from a school means you have the highest chance of getting a place in that school. We stay 1 metre away from a really good school. St Michaels Primary School. Problem is, it's a boy's school.

So we start identifying which school we want her to go. The Raffles Girls Primary, the Nanyang Primary, the Henry Park primary and ... we stopped. I forgot that there is this really stupid and unfair ruling that you need to own the address that your child is registered and you cannot rent the place. That effectively rules out a majority of us who are not in the position to afford houses in within 1 or 2km near these schools. Ridiculous rule.

So where does it leave us? Many other primary schools that are very capable of educating Maegan the same way as they did for me and Daphne. Perhaps, in our fascination with what we think is good, we fall into the very trap that makes us all Singaporean. In that the future of our children is crafted, engineered and decided based on meritocracy and status, in what WE deem to be best for our kids. And the best part of it all, the child is all of 8 weeks old.

What makes a Singaporean Dad? A bloke that peers into the future of his child and imagining possibilities but constantly peeps into his bank account and realise, some are but mere dreams.

Sad but true.