DadLabs is by no means alone on this press tour of Swedish fatherhood. We are joined by the writers from Father’s Quarterly U.K and Father’s Quarterly Japan, a Japanese translator, Tom Beardshaw publisher of Dad.info, Annika and the amazing staff from Baby Bjorn, and Jim and Amy from Baby Swede (the North American Bjorn distributor). We pile on a tour bus and head out to visit a daycare center.

Daddy Troy is planning a cool episode on this amazing facility, so I won’t go into too much detail, but the all organic kitchen where they baked their own bread, where plates of fresh shredded carrots and cucumbers were readied for “snack” time, almost brought tears to my eyes. I was gobsmacked by a force-ten guilt tsunami. What excuse to we really have for the fish crackers and chicken nuggets?

The next stop for the Dad Media tour bus is the mod-Swede home of Heinrick and Lisa. Both lawyers, and parents of two, the couple has taken full advantage of the family leave system, and it shows. Heinrick was several months in to his eight month paternity leave, and he felt very confident that his career would not be negatively impacted in any way. Lisa was glad to be back at the office, as they would be starting the whole cycle over again in a few months. Their third child is due in September.

Other men on paternity leave appeared at the party, kids in tow. You can tell if a dad is really close to a young child, plugged into the daily routine by the casual comfort they have with the little ones. And these guys had it. They were cool and comfortable in their role as primary caretaker, and the kids were too. Lisa talks about the importance of the men being there, not just for the good parts but for the conflicts as well, and I just want to yell, yes!

I think about the luxury these guys of spending 8 straight months with their babies, without having to make professional sacrifices, then about the daycare situation awaiting the kids when mom and dad go back to work and all my qualms about socialism are pretty much vaporized. Obviously, I value entrepreneurship as much as the next guy, but what is that compared to the kind of family/work balance I see in that back yard in Stockholm?

It’s got me feeling a little *gasp* political.