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THIS newly married couple - civil servant Stephanie Lim and her electrical-engineer husband, Mr Edwin Foo - will not hear the pitter patter of little feet in their house any time soon.
"We would like to spend more time with each other first.
It's also an added financial burden to bring a child into the family now," Ms Lim, 27, explained.
She and Mr Foo, 30, got married last November.
They plan to have a kid after two to three years, after they have had sufficient couple time and can afford the costs of child-rearing.
"Two children are ideal. We don't want to compromise on the attention we give to the children, if another child (comes along)," Mr Foo said.
They are among many young adults here who do not view having children as a top priority, due to the financial constraints, although most do eventually want kids. This was revealed in a poll conducted by I Love Children (ILC) in the last quarter of last year.
The parent-advocacy group interviewed 1,000 Singaporeans and permanent residents aged 21 to 39 to find out why many couples are not considering, or delaying, parenthood.
It found that 28 per cent of those polled viewed having a successful career as the No. 1 priority, whereas only 3 per cent felt having kids is top of their list.
Mrs Joni Ong, president of ILC, told the media yesterday that the top three factors cited by couples who are delaying having children were these: high financial costs; personal time as an opportunity cost; and career as a priority over children.
Interestingly, when asked if they will have kids if money is not a concern, only 39 per cent said yes. However, almost half of them will have children if they have a supportive spouse.
Ms H. Y. Xia, 28, a communications officer who has been married for five months to a process- engineer husband, believes that raising a child is a shared responsibility between husband and wife.
She said: "Spreading the load of involvement between us will also allow each to pursue other interests in our personal time."
She added that they intend to have a child in two years' time.
She fits the profile of more than half of the respondents - 64 per cent - who said they intend to have children. Of this group, most are newlyweds or are about to get married.
For these couples, the exorbitant cost of child-rearing ranks highly on their list of concerns.
Ms Lim said she has a friend who racked up almost $30,000 in hospital bills after giving birth to twins in December last year.
She said she was taken aback by the the large figure, even if the payment was partially offset by Medisave subsidies.
Aside from worrying about the costs of the delivery package and the grade of hospital wards, she said she is also concerned about any unforeseen circumstance that may drive up the costs.
Her sentiments echo what Mrs Ong believes are the common financial worries of couples.
The 51-year-old, who has five children, believes many childless couples are just too caught up in building their careers, accumulating more savings and enjoying "a hassle-free lifestyle".
However, she felt it is possible to attain "the balance between personal goals and having children" if one is nimble and adjusts one's goals.
Ms Lim and Mr Foo are those who are willing to do so. They will make compromises regarding career and personal time, in order to have children one day.
"We just want to be confident of being able to bring up our child in a good environment," Ms Lim said.
While they appreciate government subsidies for child-bearing, they think these are just bonuses and that they have to rely on their personal savings and prudent financial planning.
"Ultimately, we have to depend on ourselves for the upbringing of our kids," she said.
