Baby Bonus... will you do it for the sake of the bonus?

Hmm... interesting. How does this child tax credit work? How about the education bonus? Can you share more details with me?

Wow, $200 a month every month? And how long can you claim this money for the child?

I am not sure about the education bonus as i am not eligible to get it for my kids. The baby bonus is just around $200 dollars a month for each child. We get it on the 20th of every month. Any Canadian citezen that files income tax is allowed to get it for their kids.

Oh? The government will give child support for parents who do not work? How much is this child support? If a parent can afford not to work and live off the child support, it must be quite sizeable! Wow... And mothers are willing to sit thru 10 months of pregnancy, and labor to give birth multiple times just to stay at home and live off the welfare given by the government?

Wow, they include housing and food allowance too! That is like a better package than the one we got. No wonder people are trying to work the system to live off of it. Are the government aware of the situation? If they are, how come they are not doing anything about it?

im not sure how much it is but if you get it then you more than likely also get government money for food and either money or housing from the government also.. the government housing is always bad areas and the money for food isnt much but with each kid you get more on that too.. a lot of people like to work the system so they dont have to work when its really for the mothers that really CANT work due to whatever and have kids not for people to see having tickets as a scapegoat for working etc..

I didn't mean this money would be given to foster parents, I just meant that I hope people don't start having kids just for the money. That the children are really wanted.

I do not think this bonus is extended to foster parents. They are more geared towards parents who have children naturally. I know about the foster children scheme in the states. And some people are exploiting the loop hole in the system to take advantage of the welfare given for homing foster children. There are good families and people who really do care for the foster children in their care. But as with any thing good, there will be a few bad hats that don't. If only there are ways to find out and weed these bad family out before they even get the chance to skive off the benefits of this foster care welfare that is provided by the government. I pity the children who fall into the hands of the people who care only for the money from the welfare rather than taking care of the children entrusted to them.

Oh... my bad. Yes, I do agree with you. Well, here, most parents want kids for their family planning. Not for the sake of it. I cannot say the same for couples of other countries though.

and here are some other details concerning the baby bonus in australia from http://www.ato.gov.au/individuals/content.asp?doc=/content/33906.htm ---------------------------------- What is the baby bonus? Who is eligible for the baby bonus? The mother is usually the person who will claim the baby bonus. You can claim the baby bonus each year until the child turns five. The baby bonus is paid whether or not you get any other family benefits and can be claimed even if you do not pay tax. You can use the Baby bonus calculator to help you determine whether you are eligible to claim the baby bonus and if so, the amount you are entitled to claim.

Oh? Australia also has a baby bonus scheme? How does the one in Australia work? Can you share some details with me?

Wow, up to the time the child is 5? Here, it is a one off bonus. The other education component have to be contributed by the parents before they get anything from the government. And from what I hear, the education system in Australia, the parents do not have to worry about fee all the way till college? Wow... that is like, a lot of savings and less worries for parents to bring up their children!

Well, that is definitely better that nothing at all...

True! True! True!

I wouldn't say that money will not be a problem with the acceptance of the baby bonus. The money is not a lot. Just enough to maybe cover the hospitalization and the procedures for bring the child into this world when it is due. The cost of the check ups during the pregnancy is still your responsibility. The cost of bring the child up is still your duty. But with the cost of things going up, the money given by the government does go some way in helping to offset some of these cost.

Yeah, that is the original intention of the baby bonus anyways. I wonder how many parents out there bit the carrot and planned another child cos of the bonus. Some couples I know stopped after one child cos the cost of bring up a child is spiralling up and up all the time. Having many children is a good thing if you can afford to care for them. No point having a whole bunch of them if you cannot care for them adequately.

ha ha ha ha ha... that is something that I observed too. Well, All I can think of is, they have a different set of expectations when it comes to family planning.

haha.. There are not much families whom are tempted by the money.. BUt i do know, regardless with the baby bonus or not, malay families are the ones whom will always be giving birth to more than 3 children in a family.. lol =D Though most of the time, they are poor, but still they will keep having children.. lol =D That's one thing i can never understand.. hehe

As I said, it sure is an idea, and in an aging population new babies are important. Balance should always be kept in mind.

Yep. The parents that are preparing for their new borns are extremely happy with the changes in the policies. I am sure those that are considering their family planning are taking this new changes in the policies to bring forward their plans as well.

Yep, that is the purpose of the incentive. To help encourage people to have more babies. And in order to do that, the government is willing to give this baby bonus to help off set some of the expenses incurred when bring a baby into this world. It is sort of like a nudge in the direction of having more children for couples who are planning to start a family.

I am sure when the government plans that incentive to encourage more births, that is their intention. But with any good intentioned plans, there will be some one who will try to exploit it. I hope that is not the case with this incentive. It would be so so sad to know that a child is brought into this world cos the parents want to cash in on the incentives that the government is giving. Besides, which woman would want to go thru ten months of inconvenience and labor to boot just to get a few thousand dollars?

There are always two kinds of people in the world. The good ones who are always honest and kind. And the rotten ones who are always out to cash in on any benefits they can get. I am sure those couples who find the financial burden of bring a child to the world would welcome this incentive as it will help in off setting some of the high cost. But there are always those who will have children for the sake of getting the incentive. They do not care less if the child is not well taken care of. These are the people who do not deserve to have children. Sigh... takes all kinds to make this world, doesn't it?

I totally agree with you on that. Not easy to bring up a child. The time demands on the parents is not to be belittled. And no amount of bonus is going to be able to take over the efforts required to bring a child up!

Well, to some couples who are planning to have lots of children, the cost of bringing one into the world is really inhibiting them from doing so. The incentive provided by the government is to target these people. To encourage them to go ahead with their plans as the government is willing to give this bonus to help off set any cost they may be worrying about. It just makes me wonder if people would be so unscruplous as to go thru with a 10 month pregnancy and labor to give birth to a child just for the sake of taking the money that the government is dishing out! Of courst the bonus is not meant to bring UP the child. But just to encourage couples to have more as it will off set some of the cost to bring the child into this world.

Well, those teens are so naive! So, what happened to the children that they gave birth to? Were they all well taken care of? I sure hope that people are not taking advantage of the bonus just to give birth. That is a very wrong way to think when trying to get oneself pregnant with child!

Well, to some couples who are planning to have lots of children, the cost of bring one into the world is really inhibiting them from doing so. And the incentive provided by the government is to target these people. To encourage them to go ahead with their plans as the government is willing to give this bonus to help off set any cost they may be worrying about. It just makes me wonder if people would be so unscruplous as to go thru with a 10 month pregnancy and labor to give birth to a child just for the sake of taking the money that the government is dishing out!

Well, it is good that you did not have children for the sake of the bonus. With the cost of things going up and up all the time, many couples are holding back their family planning. I guess the incentive is to target these people to encourage more births in the country. I really cannot phantom why any woman would want to go thru 10 months of pregnancy just to get the incentive. But I also cannot rule out the fact that some people may think that way and go ahead with the pregnancy just for the sake of it.

I totally agree with you on that. I am sure there would be some couples that love to have children. But the high cost of bring one into the world is holding them back. But as with any society, there will be a few bad apples who are bring children into this world, not because they can. But because they want to cash in on whatever benefits they can from the relevant authorities. These are the people, whose children that are usually not well taken care of. Sad, isn't it?