‘Because we had her on our first try’: Couple explains daughter’s 'Toto' nickname to PM Wong
SINGAPORE: Fresh from his National Day Rally speech where he unveiled a slew of support measures meant to encourage Singaporeans to have more babies, Prime Minister Lawrence Wong posted a video where he talked about parenting with a young couple and their little girl nicknamed “Toto.”
PM Wong apparently first met up with the singer-songwriter Hubert Ng and his wife Yih Ru, known online as Bert & Lulu, four years ago, when Toto was still a distant dream.
As he is introduced to the little girl, who gives him a high-five, PM Wong asks about her unusual name.
“Her real name is Koei,” Bert tells him.
“So why do you call her Toto?” asks the Prime Minister.
Her father answers, “The fun fact is because we had her on our first try. Like, luckily! It was just like a gamble,” while Lulu gives out a laugh.
It also cracks PM Wong up, and he later tells them how fun it is to see young people grow up, as a photo from their first meeting, around the time they started posting content, pops up on the video.
The Prime Minister said that he wanted to see Bert & Lulu to encourage other young Singaporeans to go on their own parenthood journey, and perhaps inspire more fathers to be like Bert, who is very present in his little girl’s life and admits to enjoying doing things with her.
And while Bert and Lulu talked about how they enjoy even simple activities such as grocery shopping with Toto, parenting today is rather stressful, as there is schooling, enrichment, and many other factors to consider.
At not even one year old, Toto is already doing enrichment classes, including swimming lessons, which are her favourite. Her parents talked about the good side to enrichment, as it gives them some time to themselves.
PM Wong admitted that parenting isn’t easy, calling it an “intensive” endeavor, unlike how it was in the past.
Unlike other Singaporean toddlers, however, Toto does not go to infant care, because her father works from home. Lulu, meanwhile, has a job outside the house.
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They expressed how grateful they are for shared parental leave in Singapore, as it has worked to their advantage, especially Bert’s.
In a social media post, Bert & Lulu thanked PM Wong for his visit. “Surreal doesn’t even cover it — PM Lawrence Wong in our house, catching up on the years we’ve known each other. Also finally, officially introducing him to my baby, Toto aka Koei. She actually sat through the whole conversation (with a few chaotic moments, of course) and clearly enjoyed his company just as much as we did.” /TISG