Parental Leave

One of the first things I noticed in Sweden was the fact that there were so many babies. I also noticed that there were a lot of fathers (without the moms) with the baby carriages. When I first arrived, I was waiting in line to change Belle's diaper, and I think I was the only mom with their baby. Everyone else in line was the dad. All of the babies has to do with Sweden's parental leave policy. Parents are entitled to a total of 480 days paid leave per child, with both mothers and fathers entitled and encouraged to share the leave. The leave can be taken at any time until the child reaches the age of seven. In line with the Swedish state’s strict policy of promoting sexual equality, mothers and fathers are expected to share the 480 days equally. It is possible for one parent to take up to 420 days of the total leave, but the remaining 60 days are then reserved for the other parent.

Because of the fact that there are so many babies in Stockholm, the city is very baby-friendly. On the buses, there is extra wide doors to accommodate strollers and you can travel free with your stroller. Babies are generally well catered for at cafes. Most restaurants, have microwaves so you can warm food or milk. Most establishments have at least one toilet equipped with a fold-down table to change your baby’s diaper. Also, all subways stations have elevators, which is very accommodating when you're trying to navigate a stroller through the busy stations. (We quickly learned that this is not common in other cities as we had to carry the stroller up and down stairs in other city's subways.) The fact that Stockholm is so family-friendly made it a very easy for Belle and I to be able to explore the city on our own.