Natsku is the luckiest lady of all of us.

[Foogirl]

https://edition.cnn.com/2013/05/08/business/best-place-to-be-a-mother/index.html

Apparently Finland is the best place in the world to be a mother.

It would be fabulous to get a Finnish view on this piece.

 

[Natsku]

I am the luckiest mum of them all

I certainly feel that its a good country to be a mum in. Lots of support to either stay or home or go back to work (or indeed combine the two), women are well represented in the workforce and not just in the 'mummy track'.

With the number of years of formal schooling, well it seems like people go to school forever here (it seems like most people around my age, 26, haven't finished Uni yet) so I think it tends to delay motherhood until a bit later which perhaps isn't biologically best.

Maternal health and children's health is spot on, there is excellent pre-natal care here that everyone is encouraged to attend appointments (you don't get your maternity grant if you don't go for an appointment before 5 months pregnant) and babies/children have their own clinics separate from the normal health centres with regular check ups up until they start school (when school health services take over).

Definitely a lot of women in politics here, which is probably why there are so many good family friendly policies.

I am honestly so glad that I was living here before I got pregnant, I do think this is an amazing country to be a mum. I am in my 3rd year of paid parental leave but if I was to go back to work I wouldn't have to pay more than 200(ish) euros a month for full time daycare (public, private costs more but apparently not much more), and on a low income I'd only pay about 20 euros a month.

 

[Foogirl]

wow, 3 years of paid parental leave??. Well jealous! How many years can you have?

How on earth does the Government afford it? Are taxes very high?

 

[Natsku]

3 years is the max (well until your youngest child is 3 so if I was to get pregnant this year I could be paid to stay home until 2017). Its not called parental leave, technically parental leave ends when the baby is 9 months, after that you get child home care subsidy (which you can also use to pay family or a childminder to look after your child while you do go back to work)

Tax is 30% (at least it was in 2011, might have gone up since then) at the highest bracket but there's also a municipal tax of 16%-20ish% depending on where you live (equivalent of council tax I guess) so not too bad I think, pretty on par with the rest of Europe. I pay 20% tax (just on the child home care subsidy, not on my other benefits) but get nearly 400 euros back at the end of the year so probably my actual percentage is lower, but it does mean that lower incomes don't pay a much lower tax rate (I think the lowest tax bracket is fairly low in the UK, right?)

I really don't know how the government affords it, spending less on other things I guess (don't have to spend so much on military for example as its a conscription army, or on prisons cos hardly anyone is in them) Families are just prioritised here I guess (probably in an attempt to increase the birth rate which is pretty low)

 

[Tiff]

How wonderful that they do those things to help families! I thought we were pretty decent with getting a year's paid leave when you have a baby, but 3 years is definitely awesome.

 

[Natsku]

Its very awesome

 

[cat lover]

she might be lucky but shes still a cow!

 

[Natsku]

she might be lucky but shes still a cow!

Bitch!

 

[Midnight_Fairy]

Interesting

 

[Sarahkka]

What a fantastic program! Check this out:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-22751415

 

[lindseymw]

What a fantastic program! Check this out:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-22751415

I saw this on Facebook. I think it's fab idea. Pity the UK didn't do something like this.

 

[Natsku]

I loved my baby box, Maria slept in it til she was 6 months old! And the clothes were great, really good quality, saving them all for the next one (though I'll get another box next time too cos Maria destroyed the actual box so need a bed for the next baby). Seems the box this year is much prettier than they used to be though.

 

[Foogirl]

I read this too and thought of you. What a fabulous idea and a brilliant incentive for pregnant women to see a healthcare provider!

 

[Eternal]

Sounds amazing!

 

[Natsku]

Haha looks like I'm not the only lucky one. Not sure they need the box though...

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/blogs-magazine-monitor-23138306

 

[Sarahkka]

Nice! Man, those boxes are NICE!! Look at that stuff! Beautiful!

 

[Natsku]

I'm jealous because the actual box wasn't pretty looking when I got mine. Mine was just normal cardboard grey with KELA stamped all over it, damn.

 

[Foogirl]

I'm jealous because the actual box wasn't pretty looking when I got mine. Mine was just normal cardboard grey with KELA stamped all over it, damn.

Sounds like a great excuse to have another!

 

[Natsku]

I'm jealous because the actual box wasn't pretty looking when I got mine. Mine was just normal cardboard grey with KELA stamped all over it, damn.

Sounds like a great excuse to have another!

Haha don't tempt me!!