Finland's Families

Nurturing, breadwinning, and upbringing: paternal responsibilities by Finnish men in early fatherhood

“…Finnish fathers, like their Nordic colleagues, continue to be at greater liberty to decide the terms of their engagement and participation (Miller 2011(Miller , 1096, take less parental leave (Brandth 2012, Lammi-Taskula 2006Haataja 2009;Forsberg 2005) and work significantly more hours outside the home than mothers (Miettinen & Rotkirch 2012, 34), all of which tend to stress the mother's primary role in infant nurturing and care giving, with the father as economic provider and assistant care giver. Despite contradictions between paternal ideologies and practices, in global comparison, Finnish men can be considered to be relatively more involved in child care practices than fathers in many other countries.…”

“…Dermott 2008;Miller 2011;Doucet 2006). Lately, interest has also been shown in such questions as how fathers balance earning and caring (McDonald & Jeanes 2012) and the connections between fatherhood and work in general commonly perceived as pioneers in gender-equal family policies (Coltrane & Behnke 2013, 421), are characterized by extended father-care leave with high income replacement (O'Brien 2009) and a strongly held societal principle of gender equality (Forsberg 2005). These countries, in which a gender-balanced distribution of care work is both the goal of the equality politics and nowadays also a cultural norm of parenting, constitute globally rare exceptions where men can reduce their working hours or opt for parental leave after childbirth (see Smart 2011, 43).…”

Happy Spouses, Happy Parents? Family Relationships Among Finnish and Dutch Dual Earners

“…The participation in working life of women is relatively high (67.3% in Finland and 67.7% in The Netherlands in 2006; Eurostat, 2008); however, the countries differ in that women mostly work full‐time in Finland and part‐time in The Netherlands. In Finland, full‐time work has been facilitated by public service provision, such as day care for all children under school age and a broad range of social security measures (Forsberg, 2005; Pfau‐Effinger, 2004). In The Netherlands, in turn, part‐time work is largely supported by the government as a way of reconciling work and parenthood, and it seems to meet the needs of employees (Pfau‐Effinger).…”

Family dynamics in the United States, Finland and Iceland

“…Percentages of the population having completed a secondary education are 59% in the United States, 68% in Finland and 75% in Iceland (21). At the time of data collection, unemployment rates were 5.6% in the United States, 4% in Iceland (21); and because of an economic recession, a high rate of 20% in Finland (24).…”

“…Nordic countries however, remain far ahead of the United States (28). True to the Nordic model of universality, Finland and Iceland have gender equality, therefore, in Finland funds are distributed to individuals rather than to families (24). Social workers in Finland are challenging current policy from a support model for families to an adult controlled model, and argue for increased rights of youth to combat child deprivation and delinquency (29).…”