Tuesday, December 4, 2012

Latte pappas

*sparklingly (http://sparklingly.blogspot.com)
{ A walk in Stockholm's Hagapark | December 2010 }

The primary thing people warn me about when I say I want to move to Sweden is: "but it's so cold/dark!". True. But, I'm hoping my obsession with coziness and candlelight, their obsession with "fika" (coffee/pastry breaks) and my newfound love of saunas, which exist on every street corner over there, will combat the overwhelming lack of sunlight and warmth in winter.

On a tangential note: here's a man's point of view on gender equality in Sweden (I promise I'll move on from this soon). Don't you love how the dad's are called "latte pappas"? Adorable.
"It has only taken a few weeks of this for me to know [that] when I thought I was being sympathetic to my wife during her child leave, I wasn't being nearly sympathetic enough. And when I thought I was being understanding, I didn't understand a thing...
...In Sweden, men's painful discovery of how exhausting it is to look after a baby is believed to aid parental harmony. 'You get a whole different understanding of how it is to take care of a child, because work is nothing in comparison'...
...Swedes tend to see generous shared parental leave as good for the economy, since it prevents the nation's investment in women's education and expertise from going to waste."
Granted we don't have children, nor are we anywhere close to being ready, but I think it might be nice to be in place that has this mindset when we finally decide to grow our own little family, no?

2 comments :

  1. it's brilliant on so many levels. it is totally different taking care of baby for a whole complete day then just for a few hours. vito also has a 'daddy day' which i think is so important for bonding. (we both work 10% less now, as is allowed here in NL, of course for 10% pay cut, but totally worth it)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. So worth it!

      Love that way of life—it seems so much more saner, healthier, and respectful! (And, apparently, a happier way to live ;). Just saw your Google+ post!).

      J.

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XOXO,
J.