Sweden has always beeb cited for its excellent and comprehensive social, health, and education programs that cover all to prevent the creation of an underclass. That is why Sweden is also famed for having the lowest rates of poverty and social exclusion, on a global scale. In fact most expatriates in the country are appreciative and full of praises for the government’s support to families.
Sweden provides medical care for free or as well as free education from elementary to university level. All of which are are covered and paid for by government in return for the taxes paid under a progressive system of taxation. Progressive tax i based on a taxpayer’s ability to pay, making low-income earners’ tax lower compared to those who have higher income.
Family day-care and preschool facilities, which although requires payment of fees, are affordable for low income families but can be costly for high earners as fees are based on parents’ income. Still the government has instituted a price ceiling known as Maxtaxa to limit the amount of total charges collected from every parent.
Relationships Swedish Style
The Swedes are encouraged to choose who they want to marry or live with, regardless of their romantic or gender preferences. To most Swedes, character and physical appearance matter most even if without family approval. It is actually rare for a Swedish individual to marry someone for reasons of financial security as the general society encourages to marriages or unions borne on affection.
Sweden is leading in terms of gender equality and this is also what makes them different from other countries. “Sambo” which means “living with” or nonmarital cohabitation in Sweden is accepted by the society and always has been since 1988 where legal rights and responsibilities as marriage were required. During that time, illegitimacy for those required rules aren’t stigmatized by the society.
Families in the country are mostly nuclear instead of extended, and that single-parent households have a high rate even though two-parent households are relatively normal. Not only that, family structures that follow patriarchal beliefs have also diminished alongside traditional patterns of female economic dependency and male authority.
Parenting the Way Swedes Do
In Sweden, when a child comes along in the family, the couple gets fifteen months of paid leave divided between the two of them, with a month for each parent. There is also a policy that if a Swedish dad opts out of his parenting role, he forfeits the parental benefit payment for every month that he does so.
It is because of that policy why many Swedish fathers became interested in playing an active role in parenting. .
The country acknowledges a family’s need of support even prior to the child being born. Women with child in this country receive free or subsidised prenatal care. This includes group support and training sessions for practicing child-delivery breathing techniques.
After the child is born or in some cases adopted, parents have 480 days of paid parental leave that is unfurled evenly between the parents which means they have 240 days each. Statistics show that Swedish papas are more keen in taking on more parental leaves in order to participate in raising their children when compared to fathers in other countries. They also have no issues in playing their part in promoting gender equality in their family and in the society.
Classic examples domesticities of a Swedish daddy include mundane moments of washing a baby in the kitchen sink, or enticing a toddler to eat solid food; or even struggle patiently to put a toddler into a stroller.
Instead of dominating their kids as a means to instill discipline, Swedish parents negotiate or make compromises with their children because corporal punishment is considered a crime in this country.
More often than not, baby prams or strollers are outfitted with high tech baby monitors, but parents makes sure to use a babymonitor bäst i test or those that have passed rigid baby monitor testing. After all these devices allow them to watch their baby even from afar or as a way to acquire some free time without feeling anxious about their kid’s safety.
Once their kids are older, Swedish parents can choose to entrust them in preschool daycares known as förskola, facilities that provide daycare services, early education and leisure centers for various types of children.