Name: Why Finnish parents prefer the hands-off approach
Uploaded: 2025-11-29T15:38:27.143Z
Duration: 4 min 47 s
Description: Finnish parents are famously laid-back. They even park babies in strollers outside shops, unattended. Elsewhere, that would be a crime.

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

Helsinki

In Finland, it is common for parents to leave babies outside grocery stores or in the yard, reflecting a high level of community trust and a sense of safety. Families like the Perus, living near Helsinki, embrace a relaxed and supportive approach to parenting, allowing children independence from an early age.

Despite being ranked as the world's happiest people, Finns have a low birth rate, influenced by concerns about the future and global issues. Finnish families benefit from generous parental leave, financial support, and universal daycare, with outdoor activities and a connection to nature playing a significant role in children's upbringing and overall happiness.

Why Finnish parents prefer the hands-off approach

Would you leave your baby outside the grocery store unsupervised? Or outside a cafe? Maybe in your yard? For the Finns, it's nothing out of the ordinary. Ronja and her daughter Elmi are no exception. It's quite usual to leave the kid in front. It's safe. And I trust that other people are also looking out for her while she's there and I go to the store. The Perus are a pretty normal Finnish family. Ronja and Erka live with their one-year-old daughter in Porvoo, a town just under 50 kilometres from the capital of Helsinki. Ronja is a film producer and Erka is a hotel manager. Both take care of the household and the baby. I think it's the relaxed and trustworthy approach that we have towards raising a child. You allow them to try and fail. But why do Finns have so few children? According to Gallup's World Happiness Report, the Finns are the world's happiest people and have been eight years running. At just 5.6 million, the Finns are a relatively small population surrounded by lots of nature. Statistically, Finnish women have only 1.26 children each. I think one of the most important factors is the uncertain life and future, climate change and what's going on in the world as well. I think it affects a lot of young people. Right from the baby's birth, the families receive support, financially and otherwise. In the case of average-earning parents, each receives about 70% of their income from the previous year for 160 days. Then come child benefits of about 100 euros per month for the first two children. Just before 8am, Ronja takes Elmi to the daycare centre. From the age of just nine months, every Finnish child has the right to a spot in daycare. Elmi has been going since her first birthday. Usually I take her there in the morning and Erkka picks her up in the evening because I work in Helsinki, so she loves being there. She always goes there and doesn't look back when I drop her there. Elmi generally stays in the daycare from 8am to 4pm. Lots of daycare centres even offer round-the-clock care for parents who do shift work or who go on lots of business trips. Depending on their income, parents pay a maximum of 311 euros a month for the first child. Little children learn a lot from playing. Like how to get along with other kids and to deal with separation from their parents and be independent. On a normal day in Finland, much of that takes place in the open air. Here we use music to practice language skills, we read and sing a lot. Today Elmi is home for lunch. The little family is going to spend the afternoon together. But now it's time for the afternoon nap. Elmi takes hers outside in the yard. A baby phone measures body temperature and sounds an alarm if she wakes up. The outside temperature in Porvoo at 12 noon today is minus 2 degrees Celsius. I think it's very typical to put the baby to sleep outside because they sleep better in the fresh air. Being out in nature is a big factor in Finnish people's happiness. And for Ronja and Erka, that they have time together as a couple. That knack for happiness is something they want to pass on to their daughter. I think we're very genuine and honest and I think that's something that's very important for your happiness. We haven't had much in a sense. We are happy and humble of what we have. All the small things. The Pervoos are genuine, open and modest. And for many, it's those very qualities that define parenthood in Finland.

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