Daddy Brad: Welcome back to the lab. For the next couple of weeks we are going to be brining you episodes from beautiful downtown Stockholm, Sweden.
Daddy Clay: Now why did we come all the way to Stockholm, Sweden? Well because this country is widely said to be the most father friendly nation on earth because of its progressive family leave and particularly its unique paternity leave program.
Daddy Brad: You know Daddy Clay, the United States we have family medical leave act. And that grants families that are having a baby 12 weeks of unpaid leave from their job. Now mostly moms take this. Dad’s can too but it’s mostly maternity leave. But it’s unpaid.
Daddy Clay: In Sweden in comparison each family when I Swedish baby is born is allotted 480 days of state sponsored and paid family leave. It starts at 80% of your salary and steps down over time. That’s given 60 days allotted specifically to dad and 60 days to mom. Pretty generous offer.
Daddy Brad: Yeah and we found it was common for moms to stay home the first 8 months and then dads to take over and stay the next eight months. And some companies actually made up the difference from the 80% to 100%. So some folks got 100% of their salary and stayed home 8 months.
Daddy Clay: So you are given the option to stay home, get to know the baby, bond with the baby without making a professional sacrifice.
Daddy Brad: Yeah and none of the guys were worried that they were going to lose standing in their office by taking off the time because everybody does it. And it seems to be widely acceptable.
Man 1: So from September to mid-April I was on paternity leave. It’s so great being home. You get to know him and you have to take not only the good times but the bad times.
Woman 1: It makes me strong. It makes us stronger. And it makes him stronger. It is really best for the family.
Man 2: I understand how it is to be at home every day. Taking care of them when they are happy and when they are not happy, especially when they are not happy. To do all that stuff I know what it’s really like. And she also knows what it’s like to be at work when I am at home.
Man 3: I have been home since the middle of December and I will be home all through the summer. And will be back at work in August. It’s a good thing for my care. It’s going to be a start. We are a better family after I have been having this great opportunity to stay home.
Daddy Clay: Now you take e that and you pair it with the Swedish daycare policy, you’ve got an impressive kind of package there. In Sweden every child over the age of 1 is guaranteed a spot in a daycare, either private or state subsidized, state run. And you are guaranteed a spot. The most you are going to pay for a daycare is $200 a month. That is a cap maximum.
Daddy Brad: Yeah it’s amazing we visited one and comparable in the United States I would say for that specific type of program $800.
Daddy Clay: Very impressive. If you’ve got some thoughts about the Swedish system we have just been describing to you please leave us a comment on this video. Go to DadLabs.com, go on the community. Start a conversation thread. Let us know what you think. Could we ever implement this in the United States?
Daddy Brad: I wish we could it’s a good thing.
Daddy Clay: That’s all for us in the lab.
Daddy Brad: Okay dude, meatballs.
Daddy Clay: Uh I think I would rather get a massage.
Daddy Brad: Aqua vive.
Daddy Clay: Ah alright, maybe get some herring to do with that?
Daddy Brad: Yeah pickled?
Daddy Clay: Yeah there are different flavors of herring. The spicy kind. Oh look a cruise ship coming in.