[SINGAPORE] My parents have three children. However, when I was growing up in the 1970s, the mantra in Singapore was for families to stop at having two children.

Today, amid a low birth rate and an ageing population, the government has numerous measures to encourage couples to have children and possibly three or more. In Budget 2025, the government unveiled a large families scheme involving financial incentives to support married couples who have, or aspire to have, three or more children.

Over time, couples are having fewer kids. Between 2010 and 2024, the share of resident ever-married females in the age group of 40-49 years with no children rose from slightly over 9 per cent to 15 per cent while those with three or more children fell from nearly 30 per cent to 18 per cent.

Large families can be given more help to upgrade within the Housing and Development Board (HDB) flat market.

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Many couples with kids might desire to shift home after their first HDB Build-to-Order (BTO) flat has reached the minimum occupancy period (MOP).

The couple may need more space for a growing family. For one, a family with three children living in an HDB four-room of around 1,000 square feet (sq ft) might find the extra space of an older HDB executive apartment or maisonette of over 1,500 sq ft very useful.