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Why Finnish babies sleep in cardboard boxes (2013)

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Re: Why Finnish babies sleep in cardboard boxes (2013)

#41

Post by JasonFruit »

Swizec wrote: post #35
songzme wrote: post #30

My baby is due in 4 weeks. My wife and I shopped for weeks trying to buy a 2nd hand crib that was affordable (We ended up getting one for free from a neighbor on nextdoor). Never did it cross my mind that I could just use a cardboard box! I will definitely make a cardboard box for my upcoming baby, use it as much as I can, and see if I could get by without a crib! Perfect DIY project for a stay home dad, cribs always…

As a non parent surrounded by friends having kids I often wonder how much money and faff is wasted on things kids won’t even remember.

As a parent, I look back and think how much time and money I've wasted on things and actions my kids neither wanted nor remember. I look at my current life and wonder what I'll feel that way about in the future. Unfortunately, it's hard to tell what is worthwhile and what is not at the time.

Re: Why Finnish babies sleep in cardboard boxes (2013)

#42

Post by geoduck14 »

songzme wrote: post #30

My baby is due in 4 weeks. My wife and I shopped for weeks trying to buy a 2nd hand crib that was affordable (We ended up getting one for free from a neighbor on nextdoor). Never did it cross my mind that I could just use a cardboard box! I will definitely make a cardboard box for my upcoming baby, use it as much as I can, and see if I could get by without a crib! Perfect DIY project for a stay home dad, cribs always…

I have several kids. Let me share some experiences with you:

A card board box is probably fine starting out, but your baby will out grow it.

The sleeping container should have walls high enough to prevent him/her from climbing out - this might take 9 months, but younwill want it

You NEED to remove all fluf and excess padding in your DIY "crib". Babies can suffocate on cute "fluffy" blankets

If you build a wooden crib, pay special care to the distance between vertical bars. Specifically, you want narrow slats so your baby cannot stick his/her head through it

My current child is in a portable "pack and play". They are cheap, portable, and fit in our closet. She turns 2 next month and it was a really good idea.

Re: Why Finnish babies sleep in cardboard boxes (2013)

#43

Post by analog31 »

Swizec wrote: post #35
songzme wrote: post #30

My baby is due in 4 weeks. My wife and I shopped for weeks trying to buy a 2nd hand crib that was affordable (We ended up getting one for free from a neighbor on nextdoor). Never did it cross my mind that I could just use a cardboard box! I will definitely make a cardboard box for my upcoming baby, use it as much as I can, and see if I could get by without a crib! Perfect DIY project for a stay home dad, cribs always…

As a non parent surrounded by friends having kids I often wonder how much money and faff is wasted on things kids won’t even remember.

A side effect of birth rates and other demographic trends, people no longer have a huge network of friends and relatives with kids, to talk sense into us, and to share outgrown stuff. When I was an infant, my parents probably had a dozen other families with young kids all living on the same block. You also experienced the baby-hood of siblings and neighbors while you were still a kid yourself.

Re: Why Finnish babies sleep in cardboard boxes (2013)

#44

Post by jhgb »

tomcam wrote: post #38
29athrowaway wrote: post #15

A cushioned cardboard box is enough for a newborn. Its weakness could be moisture and high flammability. But aside from that it is perfect.

Don’t worry, in my experience the vast majority of infants, while fairly moist, are not particularly flammable.

> while fairly moist, are not particularly flammable

These two things seem to be connected. In my experience infants get more flammable as they get drier.

Re: Why Finnish babies sleep in cardboard boxes (2013)

#45

Post by danielheath »

songzme wrote: post #30

My baby is due in 4 weeks. My wife and I shopped for weeks trying to buy a 2nd hand crib that was affordable (We ended up getting one for free from a neighbor on nextdoor). Never did it cross my mind that I could just use a cardboard box! I will definitely make a cardboard box for my upcoming baby, use it as much as I can, and see if I could get by without a crib! Perfect DIY project for a stay home dad, cribs always…

Bear in mind:

* Mass manufactured Finnish ones have a base-mat that fits snugly. A very slight gap is a suffocation risk.

* When your first baby arrives, you spend a lot more time than you're used to on your knees. Cribs, being raised, are far easier on your knees than a box on the floor.

Re: Why Finnish babies sleep in cardboard boxes (2013)

#46

Post by boomboomsubban »

reidjs wrote: post #16
unlikelymordant wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Does anyone have experience trying this out? Everybody in finland?

Oh I meant suggesting it in the United States. I feel like it would not go over well, unless of course you or your SO are from Finland!

If you called it a disposable crib rather than a cardboard box I bet nobody would object.

Re: Why Finnish babies sleep in cardboard boxes (2013)

#47

Post by daenz »

>It's a tradition that dates back to the 1930s and it's designed to give all children in Finland, no matter what background they're from, an equal start in life.

That's like saying that because we have public school, all kids have an equal education. It's plain wrong. It doesn't work unless you force everyone to use the box and force everyone to go to public schools.

Re: Why Finnish babies sleep in cardboard boxes (2013)

#49

Post by zoomablemind »

neal_jones wrote: post #37
pmorici wrote: post #36

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I went with this solid wood crib from IKEA and stained it myself. Looks great pretty darn cheap and easy to break down and store. Can also convert to a trundle style and double as the child’s first real bed so it gets several years of use. My wife got one of those boxes from a places that gives them out for free but the kid out grows it fast and it is hell on your back since it is really unsafe to leave it on a table…

That ikea crib is perfectly executed- I couldn’t come up with a good reason to pay more for something

Ikea, indeed. We had what was called Gulliver at the time. Relatively cheap, adjustable (higher for first 6 or so months, then lower, and finally one side removable to make it a toddler bed).

One thing we learned is that babies are constantly on the move, even when swaddled, always find ways to tip things over, roll off sofas and chairs, ... and puke over anything and everything.

Well, we love them!

Re: Why Finnish babies sleep in cardboard boxes (2013)

#50

Post by dragonwriter »

pandemicsoul wrote: post #19
29athrowaway wrote: post #15

A cushioned cardboard box is enough for a newborn. Its weakness could be moisture and high flammability. But aside from that it is perfect.

I mean, they've been doing this for decades. Don't you think their dataset is probably more informed than your speculation?

The maternity kit includes more than just the box itself, which (along with concurrent economic development and other changes) confounds study of its effects.

In fact, with imitations of the maternity kit (or just the box as a sleeping spot) becoming more popular outside of Finland recently, often boosted by marketing playing on the correlation of the kit and the decline in infant mortality in Finland, a number of health entities in recent years have raised concerns that the box-as-crib itself may be a safety risk rather than an aid.

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