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Why Finnish babies sleep in cardboard boxes
31–40 of 275 posts
Re: Why Finnish babies sleep in cardboard boxes
#32Earlier quoted context omitted.
So, no?
Not everything needs citation in the form of a survey or scientific paper. I doubt the results of it would be honest as the people who they would be surveying have an interest in lying about the things they have purchased with it. Some things are blatantly obvious if you peel your eyes occasionally and observe humanity.
Please read up on the difference between anecdotes and data, and selective perception.
Re: Why Finnish babies sleep in cardboard boxes
#33Lovely article. However, I must say that the box is only the tip of the iceberg. It's been almost four years since we went through the gauntlet so my memory may be a bit fuzzy but if I remember correctly the FREE tier of forming babby in Finland includes:
- Initially monthly (increaing to weekly) pre-natal checkups that include bloodwork, metabolism tests, ultrasounds and any treatments necessary to ensure the baby's and mother's health.
- About 12 hours of parental training which I found surprisingly useful (containing none of the Lamaze class stereotypes I had been expecting). Also, our group of people contained an absolutely adorable teenage couple, everybody else was in their late twenties to mid thirties.
- The whole "actual business". Now this bit we did have to pay for, about $80 per day that we stayed in one of the maternity ward's private rooms with full room service.
- First weekly and later monthly post natal checkups (also for the mom) including vaccinations. At two years the schedule switches to annual checkups and starts including dental chaeckups. At some point during the first months a doctor actually visits your home to check up on how you are dealing with the whole situation. If there are clear indicators of problems (e.g. alcoholism) the doc can point you in the direction for help.
- You start getting about $150/month from the state for the baby (until it is 18 years old), this is about half of the cost of municpal daycare. In addition to this you get financial support during (m|p)aternity leave (the amount is actually scaled based on your salary). Maternity leave is about 100 days, paternity leave is about 50 days and on top of that you are entitled to 160 days of parental leave (either mom or dad can take this). Your place of employment can get state compensation if they decide to pay you a full salaray during your leave. Then there is a general child care leave than can extend to three years, it gets nitty gritty with the bureaucracy of compensations but effectively it is possible to take care of your kid for the first three years and still have your old job back when you're done. In our circle of friends there are at least a couple of "career women" who have checked out for ~5 years to have two kids and successfully gotten back into the game.
So yeah, the box is nice but it is only the icing on the fabulous cake that is having a baby in Finland :-).
Re: Why Finnish babies sleep in cardboard boxes
#34Earlier quoted context omitted.
Not everything needs citation in the form of a survey or scientific paper. I doubt the results of it would be honest as the people who they would be surveying have an interest in lying about the things they have purchased with it. Some things are blatantly obvious if you peel your eyes occasionally and observe humanity.
Please read up on the difference between anecdotes and data, and selective perception.
I know the differences, probably more than you realise.
I presented a hypothesis, which you can turn into a theory by sitting outside ASDA for a bit with a clipboard and a copy of SPSS. My suggestion was that you should try it.
Re: Why Finnish babies sleep in cardboard boxes
#35Lovely article. However, I must say that the box is only the tip of the iceberg. It's been almost four years since we went through the gauntlet so my memory may be a bit fuzzy but if I remember correctly the FREE tier of forming babby in Finland includes: - Initially monthly (increaing to weekly) pre-natal checkups that include bloodwork, metabolism tests, ultrasounds and any treatments necessary to ensure the baby's…
It is worth noting that all this is not free, but paid for by the tax payer. Many European countries have similar arrangements.
Personally, I think all this is money well spent by the governments as it gives nice financial boost to young parents and a sense that someone/something cares about them and their baby.
Re: Why Finnish babies sleep in cardboard boxes
#36Lovely article. However, I must say that the box is only the tip of the iceberg. It's been almost four years since we went through the gauntlet so my memory may be a bit fuzzy but if I remember correctly the FREE tier of forming babby in Finland includes: - Initially monthly (increaing to weekly) pre-natal checkups that include bloodwork, metabolism tests, ultrasounds and any treatments necessary to ensure the baby's…
It's a pity that in neither ar nor new york does babby get a box. I haven't heard of it happening this mroing or on any other day. You will not get a box, even if you have three kids ; i am truley sorry for your lots
In all seriousness, though, even though the United States' infant mortality rate is declining[1], it's still very upsetting to me that we're aren't far lower than we are, given how wealthy we are as a country.
[1] http://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/18/health/infant-mortality-ra...
Re: Why Finnish babies sleep in cardboard boxes
#37Lovely article. However, I must say that the box is only the tip of the iceberg. It's been almost four years since we went through the gauntlet so my memory may be a bit fuzzy but if I remember correctly the FREE tier of forming babby in Finland includes: - Initially monthly (increaing to weekly) pre-natal checkups that include bloodwork, metabolism tests, ultrasounds and any treatments necessary to ensure the baby's…
It is worth noting that all this is not free, but paid for by the tax payer. Many European countries have similar arrangements. Personally, I think all this is money well spent by the governments as it gives nice financial boost to young parents and a sense that someone/something cares about them and their baby.
True, true, I didn't want to go into that because that way lies a never ending comment chain on fiscal policy ;-).
Re: Why Finnish babies sleep in cardboard boxes
#38Earlier quoted context omitted.
Duh. It's obviously not the box itself that has reduced mortality. The "cardboard box" is a rhetorical shortcut that refers to the contents of the box and all the associated materials such as the written guides on infant care. There's a strong autistic trait in HN discussion sometimes...
> contents of the box and all the associated materials such as the written guides on infant care None of that did anything either, since other countries didn't have them and infant mortality went down there too.
Food for tought: if Norway has the same infant mortality rate and is substantially richer, does that mean something?
I am not exactly a socialist but the Finnish people still impress me again and again. (Happen to have a few friends and/or relatives from Finland. )
Re: Why Finnish babies sleep in cardboard boxes
#39Earlier quoted context omitted.
Please read up on the difference between anecdotes and data, and selective perception.
I know the differences, probably more than you realise. I presented a hypothesis, which you can turn into a theory by sitting outside ASDA for a bit with a clipboard and a copy of SPSS. My suggestion was that you should try it.
Then you should know that your hypothesis remains unsupported by any data until that is done, and that it's not the job of people who doubt your hypothesis to do so.
Apart from that, the location itself would introduce a bias, and I'm curious how exactly you would recognize women in the process of spending the maternity grant.
Re: Why Finnish babies sleep in cardboard boxes
#40If we lived in a world where journalists knew the slightest bit about critical thinking: Hmm, I wonder if the cardboard box cuts Finland's infant mortality. Maybe I should look up infant mortality for Norway and Sweden? Oh, it's exactly the same as Finland's? Can't be the box then. I'm willing to bet that U.S. infant mortality is the same or even lower -- for people of Finnish descent.
I'm willing to bet that U.S. infant mortality is the same or even lower -- for people of Finnish descent. Why?
I believe that comment is supposed to be an allusion to the following:
A Scandinavian economist once stated to Milton Friedman: "In Scandinavia we have no poverty." Milton Friedman replied, "That's interesting, because in America among Scandinavians, we have no poverty either." Indeed, the poverty rate for Americans with Swedish ancestry is only 6.7%, half the U.S average. Economists Geranda Notten and Chris de Neubourg have calculated the poverty rate in Sweden using the American poverty threshold, finding it to be an identical 6.7%. (Quoting from http://www.newgeography.com/content/001543-is-sweden-a-false... )