We got the previous one, and apparently there’s less in it this year. Someone said 7 items less, but I’m not sure what’s being left out.
Ok, but where’s the box?
What about the box? I’ve heard that this package is in a box that can also be used as a crib, is that true?
I’d get a baby just for the adorable sleeping rabbit.
in my country you get the middle finger and a snarky comment like “hope the baby doesn’t distract you from work”
Is that a pack of condoms there?
cute.
Super cute. Now I want a baby. Except I don’t.
Big fan of the seal blanket.
Is that a winter sniper suit for babies?
I’m getting this and I’m so excited! Everything looks so nice.
So wait you guys get these for free? 😳
What’s the background?
Is it something you get when you have a newborn?
Forgot the box that it comes in, which can be used as a crib.
In germany we get a letter with the tax id number of the newborn.
Scotland does baby boxes too, inspired by Finland I believe! I think it’s a fab concept
Some people might wonder why the box is dealt to every household and not just low-income families. (There was one such question here, but it got deleted.)
Here’s a short answer:
Determining which households are eligible and which are not is as straightforward as a layman could imagine. Drawing a line between low-income and other households would require more legislation, more bureaucracy, generate more costs and cause other negative side effects.
Almost everyone would hate such system. Rich people would hate it because it’s yet another form of welfare. Poor people would hate it because it’s complicated and bureaucratic. Imagine the satisfaction of barely crossing the income line and not getting the box.
It’s many times cheaper and easier to just deal the box to everyone. The costs of the whole baby box system are so small that you couldn’t even save any meaningful money by cutting it down.
As a social policy this is such a low hanging fruit that every developed country should have a similar system, IMHO.
These are wonderful, I wish they did them in England! I found this information, for anyone wanting a closer look at the items:
Not pictured: a thermos of coffee, a bottle of vodka and a sniper rifle for parents.
There are lots of slightly interesting things about these boxes. You can choose to take it or 170€. The box is chosen by 66% of all mothers and 95% of first timers. If you have twins then you get 3 choices, 6 for triplets and I’m not sure if 9 or 10 for quadruplets. I’m assuming most parents would take one box per baby and the rest in money, although an enterprising type could make more than 170€ by selling the contents.
I used to think it was a “congrats for getting lucky!” kinda thing, but then someone pointed out how much more expensive having multiple kids of the same age is. When there’s an age gap of 1-3 years you can reuse the older’s clothes on the younger ones, but with several of the same age you need multiples of everything and can’t reuse them unless you get even more kids.
If I’m reading the info correctly, then couple of two men and others that adopt a child of under 16 also get the box or money choice. I’m assuming anyone adopting a child more than a year old would go for the money, but somewhere out there might be a family that adopted a 15 years old and got the box for shits and giggles (or to give to a family in need?).
Semi-related bonus fact: paternal leave is defined as parental leave only usable by the parent who didn’t give birth, so if two women are in a relationship and one of them gives birth the other gets the option to take paternal leave. This was true at least a couple years ago and I don’t think they’ve changed the name after the gender neutral marriage law was passed.
Reminds me of that fella who lays out everything from an army ration pack, but cuter…
Ah, the bath water thermometer (bottom right). I had forgotten about those.
These full body jackets are the cutest.
This is a initiative that should be standard european policy.
Damn finns and their positive examples.
Cool, here in America, I got a huge hospital bill and two weeks maternity leave.
Now that what i call a civilized country.
*baby sold separately.
In Slovenia we get 280€ per child, COVID measure added 500 € and you get something from municipality (in our case 180€, our municipality is crap)
Gotta love social democracy!
That seal pattern is nice
Welcome to the Finland.
You can also choose to get 170 euros instead.
If that’s not interesting enough, you get 250 days of paternity leave with around 65% of your pay, or even more if your income is less.
If that’s not interesting enough, you can be home with your kid with 350e / month and more, depending how many kids you have, until your youngest kid is 3 years.
If that’s not interesting enough, some municipalities pay you some extra, up to 10 000 euros ( !!!!! ) per kid. Normally that’s over longer period, like 1000 euros per year or so if you keep living in the municipality.
​
And a lot more. Welcome to the Finland.
This is from the government? (Wide eyed in American)
The equivalent American package is a giant middle finger and an even larger hospital bill.
35 comments
Very nice
We got the previous one, and apparently there’s less in it this year. Someone said 7 items less, but I’m not sure what’s being left out.
Ok, but where’s the box?
What about the box? I’ve heard that this package is in a box that can also be used as a crib, is that true?
I’d get a baby just for the adorable sleeping rabbit.
in my country you get the middle finger and a snarky comment like “hope the baby doesn’t distract you from work”
Is that a pack of condoms there?
cute.
Super cute. Now I want a baby. Except I don’t.
Big fan of the seal blanket.
Is that a winter sniper suit for babies?
I’m getting this and I’m so excited! Everything looks so nice.
So wait you guys get these for free? 😳
What’s the background?
Is it something you get when you have a newborn?
Forgot the box that it comes in, which can be used as a crib.
In germany we get a letter with the tax id number of the newborn.
Scotland does baby boxes too, inspired by Finland I believe! I think it’s a fab concept
Some people might wonder why the box is dealt to every household and not just low-income families. (There was one such question here, but it got deleted.)
Here’s a short answer:
Determining which households are eligible and which are not is as straightforward as a layman could imagine. Drawing a line between low-income and other households would require more legislation, more bureaucracy, generate more costs and cause other negative side effects.
Almost everyone would hate such system. Rich people would hate it because it’s yet another form of welfare. Poor people would hate it because it’s complicated and bureaucratic. Imagine the satisfaction of barely crossing the income line and not getting the box.
It’s many times cheaper and easier to just deal the box to everyone. The costs of the whole baby box system are so small that you couldn’t even save any meaningful money by cutting it down.
As a social policy this is such a low hanging fruit that every developed country should have a similar system, IMHO.
These are wonderful, I wish they did them in England! I found this information, for anyone wanting a closer look at the items:
[https://www.kela.fi/web/en/maternitypackage](https://www.kela.fi/web/en/maternitypackage)
The book can also be ordered in Sami:
[https://www.kela.fi/web/en/news-archive/-/asset_publisher/lN08GY2nIrZo/content/increasing-birth-rates-in-finland-kela-published-the-2022-edition-of-the-maternity-package-ahead-of-time](https://www.kela.fi/web/en/news-archive/-/asset_publisher/lN08GY2nIrZo/content/increasing-birth-rates-in-finland-kela-published-the-2022-edition-of-the-maternity-package-ahead-of-time)
Not pictured: a thermos of coffee, a bottle of vodka and a sniper rifle for parents.
There are lots of slightly interesting things about these boxes. You can choose to take it or 170€. The box is chosen by 66% of all mothers and 95% of first timers. If you have twins then you get 3 choices, 6 for triplets and I’m not sure if 9 or 10 for quadruplets. I’m assuming most parents would take one box per baby and the rest in money, although an enterprising type could make more than 170€ by selling the contents.
I used to think it was a “congrats for getting lucky!” kinda thing, but then someone pointed out how much more expensive having multiple kids of the same age is. When there’s an age gap of 1-3 years you can reuse the older’s clothes on the younger ones, but with several of the same age you need multiples of everything and can’t reuse them unless you get even more kids.
If I’m reading the info correctly, then couple of two men and others that adopt a child of under 16 also get the box or money choice. I’m assuming anyone adopting a child more than a year old would go for the money, but somewhere out there might be a family that adopted a 15 years old and got the box for shits and giggles (or to give to a family in need?).
Semi-related bonus fact: paternal leave is defined as parental leave only usable by the parent who didn’t give birth, so if two women are in a relationship and one of them gives birth the other gets the option to take paternal leave. This was true at least a couple years ago and I don’t think they’ve changed the name after the gender neutral marriage law was passed.
Reminds me of that fella who lays out everything from an army ration pack, but cuter…
Ah, the bath water thermometer (bottom right). I had forgotten about those.
These full body jackets are the cutest.
This is a initiative that should be standard european policy.
Damn finns and their positive examples.
Cool, here in America, I got a huge hospital bill and two weeks maternity leave.
Now that what i call a civilized country.
*baby sold separately.
In Slovenia we get 280€ per child, COVID measure added 500 € and you get something from municipality (in our case 180€, our municipality is crap)
Gotta love social democracy!
That seal pattern is nice
Welcome to the Finland.
You can also choose to get 170 euros instead.
If that’s not interesting enough, you get 250 days of paternity leave with around 65% of your pay, or even more if your income is less.
If that’s not interesting enough, you can be home with your kid with 350e / month and more, depending how many kids you have, until your youngest kid is 3 years.
If that’s not interesting enough, some municipalities pay you some extra, up to 10 000 euros ( !!!!! ) per kid. Normally that’s over longer period, like 1000 euros per year or so if you keep living in the municipality.
​
And a lot more. Welcome to the Finland.
This is from the government? (Wide eyed in American)
The equivalent American package is a giant middle finger and an even larger hospital bill.