It feels truly contradictory. Compared to US parents, we are in a great position. But compared to Swedish parents, we can see many places for improvement. It seems that political discussion is difficult, since every argument is replied "we are one of the most child-friendly countries in the world".

Now, it seems to me that Finnish people are trapped in a bizarre position: On the one hand, many of us are extremely grateful for living in a Scandinavian country with good services for families and kids. On the other hand, many parents feel anxious with the gaps in these services.

For several generations, we have been required to grow up too early and suppress the needs we might have had. Many of us grew up to be independent and not expect emotional security from others. But younger parents start realising there is something wrong with this, and try to be different.

We already have a culture where kids are expected to be extremely independent. After all, who would otherwise think 8-year-olds would be ready to spend all afternoons alone or with their friends? Even if we have a safe country. But this is affecting the culture of our whole nation.

We also have 10 week summer holidays for kids, 2 weeks for Christmas, and two more weeks during the school year. Experts agree that arranging childcare is a big structural problem and parents struggle if they don't have grandparents ready to take over during holidays and afternoons.

Finnish perspective: We have publicly funded after school care for 1st graders and in some municipalities, 2nd graders as well (7 & 8 yrs old). But with increasing pressure to reduce costs, this care is no longer evident. Morning care has already been cut (hours before 9AM) in my municipality.

Tuntuu jo ihan keväiseltä, kun talitintit laulelevat ja pajunkissat kukkivat. Helmikuu vielä!

Good point! There is no single option that suits everyone, so we need more options. Good reminder for us researchers to carefully think how we formulate our conclusions.

Thank you for comment! Agree that my post was too general. :) It really seems there is not enough interest to fund studies, but doesn't mean no one is interested or willing to invest.