BALANCE the budget. Check.

Manage the economy. Check.

Change diapers. Well, check too.

It may be hard to imagine but Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong has had diaper duties too.

Said PM Lee: “Yes I did (change nappies) and folded them and learnt how to use a safety pin and not poke the baby.”

He spoke during a visit at Swissotel The Stamford and Fairmont Singapore yesterday morning.

He has a special message for husbands. Step up and help the wives take care of the kids.

He said: “(The husbands) can do a lot of things... start by changing nappies and when the kids grow a bit older, you are not just a father figure but you are helping around the house and showing them a good example, so when they grow up, they can also take care of the house.

“Otherwise, they look at the father and he is just waiting to be waited upon and they think that that is the way the world should be.”

His message comes amid the falling fertility rate and worries that the Tiger year will see fewer Chinese parents having children.

In each of the last three Tiger years in 1998, 1986 and 1974, the number of births dipped by 7 per cent.

This article was first published in The New Paper.