Why Finnish parents prefer the hands-off approach

DW (English)

Finnish parents are famously laid-back. They even park babies in strollers outside shops, unattended. Elsewhere, that would be a crime.

Transcript

00:01Would you leave your baby outside the grocery store unsupervised?

00:05Or outside a cafe?

00:07Maybe in your yard?

00:09For the Finns, it's nothing out of the ordinary.

00:12Ronja and her daughter Elmi are no exception.

00:16It's quite usual to leave the kid in front.

00:21It's safe and I trust that other people are also looking out for her

00:26while she's there and I go to the store.

00:29The Peros are a pretty normal Finnish family.

00:32Ronja and Erka live with their one-year-old daughter in Porvo,

00:35a town just under 50 kilometres from the capital of Helsinki.

00:41Ronja is a film producer and Erka is a hotel manager.

00:44Both take care of the household and the baby.

00:49I think it's the relaxed and trustworthy approach

00:53that we have towards raising a child.

00:57You allow them to try and fail.

01:03But why do Finns have so few children?

01:06According to Gallup's World Happiness Report,

01:09the Finns are the world's happiest people and have been eight years running.

01:14At just 5.6 million, the Finns are a relatively small population

01:18surrounded by lots of nature.

01:20Statistically, Finnish women have only 1.26 children each.

01:27I think one of the most important factors is the uncertain life and future.

01:33Climate change and what's going on in the world as well.

01:36I think it affects a lot of young people.

01:40Right from the baby's birth, the families receive support, financially and otherwise.

01:45In the case of average earning parents, each receives about 70% of their income

01:49from the previous year for 160 days.

01:53Then come child benefits of about 100 euros per month for the first two children.

01:57Just before 8am, Ronja takes Elmi to the daycare centre.

02:05From the age of just nine months, every Finnish child has the right to a spot in daycare.

02:10Elmi has been going since her first birthday.

02:13And usually I take her there in the morning and Erka picks her up in the evening

02:20because I work in Helsinki so she loves being there.

02:25She always goes there and doesn't look back when I drop her there.

02:30Elmi generally stays in the daycare from 8am to 4pm.

02:34Lots of daycare centres even offer round-the-clock care for parents who do shift work

02:39or who go on lots of business trips.

02:41Depending on their income, parents pay a maximum of 311 euros a month for the first child.

02:50Little children learn a lot from playing, like how to get along with other kids

02:56and to deal with separation from their parents and be independent.

03:01On a normal day in Finland, much of that takes place in the open air.

03:05Here, we use music to practice language skills, we read and sing a lot.

03:12Today, Elmi is home for lunch.

03:18The little family is going to spend the afternoon together.

03:20But now it's time for the afternoon nap.

03:24Elmi takes hers outside in the yard.

03:29A baby phone measures body temperature and sounds an alarm if she wakes up.

03:34The outside temperature in Porvo at 12 noon today is minus 2 degrees Celsius.

03:48I think it's very typical to put the babies sleep outside because they sleep better and in the fresh air.

03:59Being out in nature is a big factor in Finnish people's happiness.

04:03And for Ronja and Erika, that they have time together as a couple.

04:08That knack for happiness is something they want to pass on to their daughter.

04:11And I think we're very genuine and honest and I think that's something that's very important for your happiness.

04:25We haven't had much in a sense that we are happy and humble of, you know, what we have.

04:33All the small things.

04:35The Pervos are genuine, open and modest.

04:39And for many, it's those very qualities that define parenthood in Finland.

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